


For the Winn

by Laniki



Series: The Winn and Sam Chronicles [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, New York City, Non-Canon Relationship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-11-22 03:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 23,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11372061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laniki/pseuds/Laniki
Summary: After a tragedy. Winn runs away from National City and his friends to start a new life in a new city. But just as things start to get good, the past catches up. This story is Winn centered, but the other characters do show up. WARNING: Major character death.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've posted in Archive of Our Own, though I've been enjoying it for a while. I've written many stories for FF, but this is my first Supergirl story. As I am currently obsessed with Jeremy Jordan, this story is all about WInn. Any other JJ fans out there?

“No! Oh no, no, no!” Winn lost track of how many times he said no. Maybe if he denied it enough, it wouldn’t be true. That terrible thing that his logical mind knew was true, but his heart could not yet accept.

He tried again. “James! Answer me! Come on, man, answer!”

He kept at it. If he stopped…he couldn’t think about that. His voice was raw as he kept trying to get his friend to answer. He heard the door to the van open, but was afraid to look up. 

Then he heard the sadness in Kara’s voice as she said, “Winn.”

“No!” he cried, “No, he’s going to answer.”

“Winn, he’s not. I just found—“

“No! Don’t say it! Please.” He finally turned to look at her. There were tears pooling in her eyes. She was not surprised to see the same in his.

“Winn, he’s gone. The DEO team just took him away.”

Winn closed his eyes. Ever since James had donned the Guardian’s outfit and had gone to the streets to fight crime, this had been a possibility. But the reality was so much worse.  
Kara went to him and put her arm around his shoulder, but he shrugged it off after a few seconds.

“It’s my fault.” He said tightly.

“No, of course it isn’t.”

“It is. My job was to let him know what was happening, what to do. If I’d done that, he wouldn’t be…” It was still too raw to say that word.

“James knew what he was getting into when he decided to become the Guardian. He knew the danger.”

“Yeah, but he figured he had me to help him. And I screwed up.”

“No, you did exactly what you were supposed to do. That alien was too powerful for him. I had a hard time, he almost beat me. Even with his armor and your help, James wasn’t strong enough.” 

He wiped at the tear that was trying to run down his face. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but it’s not going to work. I sat comfortably in this van, acting like I was playing some kind of video game, while James was out getting killed. Lots of fun for Winn, pretending to be one of the tough guys when I never had to put my life on the line.”  
She started to say something, but he interrupted her. “Don’t talk about when I got beat up, because James saved my ass.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” She said quietly.

“You could say ‘I told you so’. ‘Cause I know that’s what you’re thinking. You didn’t want us doing this. You knew this would happen. That it’d be too dangerous.”

She was silent. She couldn’t disagree with him on that.

“And you were absolutely right.” He continued. “We weren’t able to do this. I wasn’t able. And now I killed James.”

“You didn’t kill him! That huge, evil alien killed him. You did everything you could.”

“Did I? We won’t ever know that for sure, will we?”

“Winn…”

“Kara, you need to fly home. I need to take this van back.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Probably not.”

She wanted to say more, but he wasn’t in the mood to listen to logic. And she needed to get back to the DEO to question the alien. She kissed the top of his head and gave him a quick hug.

“Try to get some sleep. I’ll see you soon.” With that, she left the van and flew off.

Sleep. If he’d had the capacity to laugh at that moment, that would have been a good joke.

At home, several drinks later, he still hadn’t been able to clear his brain of the evening’s events.

But eventually he was clear enough to make some decisions. No one was surprised when he texted J’onn that he was taking a personal day. People tried to call him, but he turned his phone off. He knew he had to move quickly. Kara had called him every hour and there was only so much time she would give him before she arrived at his apartment to check on him. That was the problem with best friends, they thought they had the right to invade your privacy.

By evening, he was ready. He called J’onn to ask if he could come to see him. He arranged to meet him at the DEO very early the next morning.

When Winn arrived, he was glad that there was only a skeleton crew. Seeing J’onn, he asked the DEO leader, “Can we go somewhere private to talk?”

J’onn nodded and led him to a small conference room, then waited while the younger man got his thoughts together.

“Sir, I’m here to give you my resignation.” Winn said.

“What? Agent Schott, I understand how upsetting Mr. Olsen’s death is to you and that you blame yourself. But that’s no reason to give up your job.”

“It’s not just my job, it’s everything. This place, these people. I need to get away from all of it.”

“You’re acting on impulse, based on grief and guilt. It’s not what you really want.”

“You’re telepathic. Tell me if it’s what I really want or not.”

J’onn was silent for a moment, then sighed. “What will you do?”

Winn shrugged. “Get an IT job at some big company and live a quiet boring life that doesn’t hurt anyone.”

“He knew what he was doing. He knew it was dangerous.”

Winn nodded. “At the beginning, I told him there was a cost to it. He told me he was willing to pay it and I thought that was good answer. Thing is, I didn’t ask myself the same question.”

“What can I do for you?"

“Write me a letter of recommendation so I can get a job.”

“The DEO can’t…”

“Come on, you make it from some reputable company. Tell me which one and I’ll get you the letterhead and server address.”

J’onn smiled. “We’re going to miss you around here. Your skills are hard to match. I’ll have that letter for you by the end of the day.”

“If you wouldn’t mind, could I get it now? I’d like to get on the road as soon as I can.”

“You’re not going to say goodbye to anyone? You’re not going to talk to Supergirl?”

“I can’t. I’ll breakdown if I have to look her in the face.” He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. “Can you give this to her? Please?”

J’onn took the envelope. “She’ll want to look for you.”

“I know. Please tell her not to. I need to do this. It’s not just James. It’s her, the feelings I had, shit, still have for her. The other relationships that went to hell. My father. I need a fresh start. I need a new life.”

“If you change your mind, anytime, you have a place here, Agent Schott.”

“It’s Mister Schott now. I appreciate it. And if you ever need me…no, if Kara ever needs me, well, I couldn’t say no to her.”

J’onn nodded and held out his hand. Winn took it and the two men shook hands.

“Good luck, Winn.”

“Thanks.”

 

It was several hours later when J’onn saw Kara and Alex together. Kara was talking animatedly to her sister.

“I’m going to his place, I don’t care. He won’t answer his phone and he’s not at work. I need to know that he’s alright.”

“I assume you’re talking about Winn.” J’onn said.

Kara nodded.

“He’s not there. He left.”

“What do you mean he left? Where did he go?”

“I’m not sure. He told me he needed to start over, to start a new life.”

“Are you telling me that my best friend moved away without saying anything to me?"

He pulled the envelope out of his pocket. “He left this for you.”

Kara looked at it, but didn’t open it. “When did you talk to him?”

“Very early this morning. His car was already packed and he was heading out.”

She opened the envelope and took the paper out.

Kara,  
I’m sorry I have to say goodbye like this. I know I’m a coward, but I couldn’t look at you and say it. This is what I need. A fresh start away from National City. Maybe then I can put everything behind me. You’ll be fine, you have Alex and Mon-El and everyone else. You have a place. I need to find one.  
It may not seem like it, but I’ll always be your friend. If you ever need my help, I’ll be there for you.  
I hope someday you can forgive me.  
Winn

Mon-El had come in while Kara was reading the letter. Alex whispered to him what had happened. He immediately moved to Kara’s side and put his arm around her. When she finished, she collapsed into tears against his chest.

“How could he do this to her?” Mon-El asked.

“It was something he had to do.” J’onn said.

Alex looked at him. “Do you know where he’s going?”

J’onn nodded. “But I won’t tell you. It’s his decision. I won’t betray him. But if we ever need him, I’ll be able to find him.”

Kara lifted her head, sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. “I can’t believe he did this. All I know is on that night, I lost both of my best friends.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to say before the last chapter that this story takes place before the season 2 finale, so no spoilers for that, although lots of the season is mentioned. Also, I am assuming that Winn broke up with Lyra after the fight in the bar (as he should have). Read on!

SIX WEEKS LATER – NEW YORK CITY  
Samantha Nolan was stopped on the way to her desk by her department manager.

  
“Sam, the new guy that you’ll be mentoring starts today.”

  
“Wait, I thought that wasn’t until next week. Doesn’t he have

to go through training?”

  
“He did. He was so smart, he did two weeks training in three days.”

  
“Shit. That means he’s going to be a big know-it-all, telling me how to do the job better.”

  
“HR said he was pretty nice.”

  
“To them.”

The manager laughed. “Well, he’s your responsibility for the next little while. I’ll send him over when he gets here."

  
Sam sat down in her cubicle and sipped her coffee while she logged in. She was checking emails, moving some into a folder to handle later, deleting others when she heard a soft tap on the glass of her cube.

  
“Excuse me, are you Sam?”

  
Without looking up, she said, “Yeah, I’ll be right with you.”

  
When she did look up, she lost all speech. Standing outside her cube was possibly the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Not in the Brad Pitt, movie star type, but in every way that mattered to her.

He gave her a slight smile and held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Winn.”

She just stared at him. Thick dark hair, square jaw with a little scar on the right side and beautiful hazel eyes.

  
He spoke again, “You are Sam? I’m supposed to work with you.”

  
She finally found her voice. “Yes, yes, I’m Sam. Sorry, the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.” She took his hand and shook. No, she was not going to tell herself she felt electricity.

This was not one of those 80’s rom coms that her best friend made her watch in college—and that she secretly loved. This was real life.

  
“Sorry, you said your name is…?”

  
“Winn. Winn Schott. Junior.” He smiled again, this time a wide smile, showing teeth and dimples. Oh, dear lord, she thought, that is the most amazing smile ever.

  
She finally pulled herself together and took a breath. “Hi, Winn. Welcome to CPC. Did they give you your login and password?’

  
“Yep.” He said, holding up a folder in his hand.

  
“Great. Your cube is right there across from me. Why don’t you go ahead and log in and set up your own password and I’ll be with you in a bit.”

“Sounds good.” He took a seat and started on his computer.

  
That gave her a few minutes to get herself together. Okay, he was cute—very cute—but she didn’t have to go nuts at the sight of him. The problem was that she hadn’t been on a date for way too long. That was the only reason she was turning into a puddle at the sight of him. Also, most of the guys here didn’t make anyone’s heart flutter.  
She stole a glance at Winn again. He was dressed in a button down shirt, tie and a cardigan. On any other guy, it would have looked dorky, but on him it was adorable. Guess that was how the word ‘adorkable’ was coined. She hated that word, but it did fit him.

  
After several deep breaths and internal slaps to her face, she put her professional demeanor on and went to his desk.

  
“So all set up?” she asked.

  
“Sure am.”

  
They spent the next few hours working. Her manager had been right, he was very smart and picked up everything in no time. Before long, it was lunchtime.

“Okay,” Sam said, “Time for a break.”

  
“Okay.”

  
She thought for a moment, then said, “We have a pretty good cafeteria here. And since it’s your first day, lunch is on me.”

  
He smiled (that amazing smile) and said, “You don’t have to do that, but I won’t say no.”

  
Over sandwiches, Sam asked him, “So where did you work before?"

  
Without meeting her eyes, he said, “A publisher and then a private security firm.” That was the cover company J’onn had used for his recommendation.

  
“Security? That must have been interesting.”

  
“Depends on your definition of interesting.”

“Here in New York?”

  
“No.”

“Oh, where was it?”

He hesitated, then said, “National City.”

  
“National City! Ooh, did you ever see Supergirl?”

  
With his gaze still fixed on his food, he said, “Hard to live in National City and not see Supergirl.”

  
She could tell he really did not want to talk about his past, so she was silent.

  
Winn felt bad. She was just being friendly. It wasn’t her fault that his past was too messed up to talk about. She’d been really nice to him. She was cute too. Not beautiful like Kara, but cute in a natural sort of way. He had to stop comparing every woman to Kara. It was his turn to move the conversation.

  
“How long have you worked here?”

  
“Ugh, too long. Since I finished college.”

  
“Do you like it?”

  
She shrugged. “It’s okay. I know people who work at a lot worse companies for a lot less money, so I guess it’ll do.”

  
He nodded. This was just the sort of job he needed. A large company where he could get lost in the masses. And the pay was decent.

  
He’d spent the first three weeks after he left National City driving from city to city, trying to decide where to stay. He decided on New York for the same reason he chose the company: because it was large. He found an apartment that was a little small and more than he wanted to pay, but it was New York after all. It had one bedroom, but also a small loft area which gave him a little extra room.

  
She continued telling him about the company, good and bad. When she stopped, she wanted to think of something to talk to him about that wouldn’t shut him down.

  
“Okay, enough of that. Let’s get to the really important question: What’s your favorite movie?”

  
He opened his arms and raised his hands. “Star Wars, of course!”

  
“Okay, you are as smart as you seem. Wait, first trilogy or second?”

  
“If by first you mean episodes four, five and six, then first.”

  
“Whew, smart and sane. And of course four, five and six are first.”

  
The rest of their lunch was spent discussing Star Wars, which had them both laughing and animated.

  
At home that night, Winn thought about his first day at his new job. The work was incredibly easy and could possibly be boring, but that was what he’d been hoping for—boring job. He’d find excitement in less dangerous ways than his previous job. A little boring was refreshing at this point in his life.

  
Not boring though was his new co-worker. Her short dark hair framed a pixie-like face. She didn’t wear make-up or dress to show off a figure, though she was petite. And that meant shorter than him, always a plus in a woman.

  
She was also very nice. She had shown him around the building, introducing g him to people and pointing out the ones that were important to his job. She’d also given him things to do, then stepped back and let him do them.

  
And the fact that she shared his pop culture preferences as well was a bonus.

* * *

  
Sam’s best friend was her college roommate, Marni. From day one at Columbia, they’d bonded and the relationship had never faltered. When Marni had finished law school, she’d married her college sweetheart with Sam beside her as maid of honor. Marni and her husband lived in a two bedroom apartment in the Chelsea area of New York City. Despite busy careers, Sam and Marni made it a point to meet for Sunday brunch once a month. Of course, there were phone calls and occasional lunch meets in between, but their monthly brunch was a guarantee that they could take their time and catch up on everything.

  
At their next Sunday meeting after Winn joined her company, Sam was exited to talk to her friend.

  
“So what’s new?” Marni asked, expecting Sam’s usual answer of ‘nothing’. But when she saw the smile on Sam’s face, she knew this time was different.

  
“Ooh, what?” She asked excitedly. Being married, she tried to live vicariously through her single friend. But Sam’s life was not very exciting.

  
“So, this new guy started at work."

  
“This sounds promising.”

  
“Marni, he’s so cute. And really nice.”

  
“I’m liking this more and more. You haven’t been interested in a guy in a long time.”

  
“I haven’t met a guy that wasn’t a jerk in a long time.”

“So tell me all about him.”

“Well, besides being cute, we like all the same things.”

  
“You mean he’s into Trek Wars too?”

  
“Star Trek or Star Wars. Not Trek Wars, as you well know.”

  
“Yes, because you told me all four years of college when you forced me to watch them.”

  
“You liked them.”

  
“I liked Harrison Ford. I put up with the rest.”

  
“And I put up with your rom coms.”

  
“We’re a perfect match. But enough about us, more on –what’s his name?”

  
“It’s Winn. And he just moved to New York from National City.”

  
“National City? That’s exciting.”

  
“He doesn’t like to talk much about it. I think he may have had a bad breakup of something. But I wonder how long he’ll stay at CPC.”

  
“Why? Can’t he cut it?”

  
“No, the opposite. He’s super smart. He learned everything in record time. He’s got to be getting bored.”

  
“Aren’t you bored?”

“You know I am.”

  
“And yet you’re still there.”

  
“You know I have other reasons to stay.”

  
“Maybe he does too.”

  
“Maybe.” Sam agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for those who left kudos. Would love to read your comments on the story.


	3. Chapter 3

The next days and weeks proceeded in a very predictable way, which made Winn very happy. No rogue aliens threatening the earth. No mutant villains causing havoc. The most dangerous thing to happen at his new job was a paper cut.  
He was right about Sam becoming a friend. They ate lunch together every day. On Fridays after work, he joined her and some other IT people for a happy hour that usually lasted many hours. After the first few vague answers he gave about his past, his co-workers stopped asking. And they soon had new shared experiences at the job.  
Once in a while, he and Sam would get together at his place for a movie or TV night. She was usually cheerful and funny.  
Which is why he noticed when she wasn’t. They’d been talking about the latest Doctor Who episode and he saw she seemed distracted.  
“What’s wrong?” he asked.  
“What? Oh, nothing.”  
“Come on, I thought we were buds. I can tell something’s bothering you. You aren’t even interested in Doctor Who.”  
She sighed, then ran her hand over her face. “It’s my roommate. Or more precisely, her new boyfriend.”  
“I remember you said she’s a little nuts and always bringing home different men.”  
“Well, this one is staying around. He’s actually moved in.”  
“And it’s a problem?”  
“If you consider walking into your home to find them having sex on the kitchen table a problem.”  
“Ew. Guess you won’t be eating there.”  
“No, But even worse, he likes to walk around the place naked.”  
“You’re kidding? Did you tell your roommate?”  
“Yes. She said that he should have the right to do what he likes and if I don’t like it, I can stay in my room. And since it’s her place and I rent the room from her, I don’t really have any say in the matter.”  
“So I guess you’re spending a lot of time in your room.”  
“Yeah, but here’s the thing that’s really bothering me. He’s taken to knocking on my door and pushing himself inside when I open the door. I’ve tried not opening it, but he won’t stop banging on the door until I do.”  
Winn frowned. “That’s upsetting.”  
“I know. He keeps saying things like how would I feel about a threesome? Or just him and me. I’m worried that if Judy isn’t there, he’s gonna try something. He’s a big guy and I wouldn’t have any chance against him.”  
Winn sat up. “You have to move. You have to get out of there.”  
She looked even more upset. “I can’t! Do you know how hard it is to find a room somewhere, especially on short notice? I can’t afford my own place, so I’m stuck.”  
“I don’t understand, why can’t you afford your own place? I don’t want to ask what you make, but considering my salary and we do the same job and you’ve been there longer, you should be making enough for an apartment.”  
“I’d better be making more than you for all the years I’ve put in!” She was quiet for a moment. “The reason I can’t is that I’m paying off a large debt.”  
He frowned. “Student loans?”  
“No. Well, a small portion, but the majority is actually a gambling debt.”  
He was incredulous. “You’re a gambler?”  
“No, absolutely not. I won’t even buy a lottery ticket. But my dad was. My entire life we moved from apartment to apartment. Any money that came in went right out. Just after I got my job, he told me that some bad guys were after him. If he didn’t pay them $75,000, they would kill him. He had no credit left, but he promised that if took out the loan, he’d make the payments.”  
“I take it he didn’t.”  
“He started to. But then he was killed by a drunk driver. And since the loan was in my name only, I was responsible for it.”  
“No life insurance?”  
“He cashed in every policy he ever had. I should have taken one out on him myself, but I never thought this would happen.”  
“What about your mom?”  
“She died when I was little.”  
He was quiet, thinking about all she’d told him for a few minutes. Finally he said, “You could move in here.”  
“No, I can’t. You don’t have room.”  
“See up there?” he pointed to the loft area. “It’s not very big, but it can be private if we put up a curtain or something. And this place was a little more expensive that I’d planned on. Apartments are a lot more here than in National City.”  
She looked at him to see if he was serious. His face said that he was.  
“Winn, this would solve my problem. And I’ll keep looking for someplace else, in case you hate having me here.”  
He laughed. “I don’t think I’ll hate having you here. We like the same movies and shows. We both spend long hours sitting in front of our computers. We work the same schedule.”  
“That’s true.”  
“Anyway, it will get you out of that situation and we can take it day by day. So we move you in this weekend.”  
She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.  
Sam had told Marni about the situation with her roommate’s boyfriend at their last brunch.  
“You have to get out of there, like now,” Marni said.  
“I have nowhere to go.”  
“Come stay with me until you find someplace.”  
“You know I won’t do that. A married couple needs their privacy.”  
“Okay, but you could stay for a little while. The second bedroom will be empty for a few months more.”  
“Thanks. If I get desperate, I may have to, but I’m hoping I can find something.” Then she realized what Marni had just said. “Why will it only be empty for a few months?”  
Marni smiled.  
"Oh my god, you're pregnant!" Marni laughed. “I am. Only ten weeks and you’re actually supposed to wait for twelve to tell people, but I couldn’t wait to tell you. You’re the only one besides Brad and my mom that I’ve told. So keep it quiet.”  
“Of course! Oh this is so exciting. So I really can’t move in.”  
“Sure you could. You could babysit and instead of paying you, you get free rent.”  
“I’ll babysit without pay, you know that.”  
“Well, since the baby will be your godchild…”  
“Really? I’d be honored. But what about your sister?”  
“Screw her.”  
“You said that at the wedding and she was still pissed you chose me as your maid of honor.”  
“If she ever acted like a sister to me, things might be different. You’re the only sister I have. And I don’t want you living with that asshole.”  
“I’ll figure something out. You just worry about that little human.”  
Two days later, Sam called Marni to tell her she was moving in with Winn.  
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean you barely know him.”  
“I know him. He’s a really good guy, Marni.”  
“Will you be sleeping with him?”  
“God no! He has a little loft area that we’re going to close off. I told you, we’re just friends.”  
“But you’d like to be more. And now you will be living with him.”  
“Oh, right, and I’m the type of person to jump a guy who has no interest in me sexually.”  
Marni was silent for a few moments, then said, “Okay, I know you won’t. But I’d like to make sure he’s what you say. So two things: First, what is his full name?”  
“Why?”  
“I’m going to run a criminal report on him. I have access as a criminal lawyer.”  
“Marni, please!” But she heard the determination in her friend’s voice. “Okay, it’s Winslow Schott. Junior. He’s always very insistent on the Junior.” She spelled his last name for her.  
Marni wrote it down and then said, “Okay, number two. When are you moving in?”  
“This Saturday.”  
“Then, next Saturday, you bring him to my place for dinner.”  
“Really?”  
“Just say I’m overprotective and want to know who you’re living with.”  
“That’s exactly what you are and what you’re doing.”  
“Then you won’t be lying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little short, but it was the best place to break it. Another chapter tomorrow. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Sam spent the rest of the week packing. She didn’t really have a lot. Some books and DVD’s, her clothes, bedding. The furniture wasn’t hers except for a lamp and one big comfy chair that she’d bought at a thrift store and loved to curl up in and read or play on her laptop. Also her TV and a computer desk and of course, her computers. Like Winn, the computers were her most important possessions. She had a desktop with two large monitors, two laptops and two tablets.  
They were buying a futon for the loft to serve as a bed and a sitting area. Winn insisted on paying for it, since it would be nice for him to have an extra bed should she move out.  
She paid for the U-Haul rental van, happy that he was able to drive it. As a New Yorker, she’d never learned how – who drives in New York? He picked it up early Saturday morning and she greeted him at the door with coffee and donuts.  
“Donuts, huh? A friend of mine loves donuts.”  
“Who doesn’t love donuts?’  
He just smiled. Together they carried the big chair out and put it in the van first, then her desk. They returned to her room and he stared organizing the boxes to figure out what to do next.  
“Oh, I have a few things in the kitchen fridge.” She took an empty box and left her bedroom. As she was getting her teakettle and few food items out, she heard a voice behind her.  
“What the hell are you doing?”  
She turned to see her roommate’s boyfriend, Nick, standing there. Luckily, he was wearing a pair of sweat pants.  
“I’m getting my stuff.’  
“Stealing more like.”  
“No, I’m taking food that is mine and I paid for.”  
“You shouldn’t be leaving. Judy needs the money for rent.”  
“Well, if you chipped in, she’d be fine.” She answered.  
His face got darker. “Hey bitch, that’s none of your business.”  
“You’re right, it isn’t. I’m out of here, so I don’t really care if you fleece her.”  
He moved to her and grabbed her wrist. “You know, I should have shown you who’s boss right off.”  
A voice from behind them said, “I’d advise you to let go of her right now.”  
Nick turned his head to see Winn standing there. He let out a laugh. “You gonna do something about it, Shorty?”  
“Do you want to find out?”  
“Winn, please don’t.” She was scared. Nick had at least six inches and probably more than fifty pounds on Winn. Her friend would not fare well in that encounter.  
“I won’t do anything if he lets you go and gets out of our way so we can get you out of here.”  
Nick laughed. He let go of Sam and approached Winn. “Maybe I don’t want to let her get out of here, Shrimp Boy. What then?”  
Winn didn’t say anything, just stared at him.  
Nick threw a punch, but Winn deflected it and gave Nick one that landed squarely in his solar plexus that had him sputtering for air.  
“What the…” the big man coughed out.  
“Just go back to your bedroom until we leave and everything will be fine. Or we can continue this.”  
Nick glared at him, but headed to the bedroom and slammed the door.  
Sam’s mouth was open in shock. “How…?”  
“Later. Let’s just get your stuff and get out of here before he figures out that he’s a lot bigger than me and can squash me like a bug.”  
They got the rest of her stuff loaded, she took one more look to make sure she had everything, then left her key on the counter and closed the door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief.  
Once they were in the van and heading to his apartment, she demanded, “How the hell, Winn?”  
“A friend at my last job. Some bullies would pick on me in bars, so Alex gave me these moves that would put them off balance. Most bullies just like to intimidate and if you get them off balance, they retreat. And if you can get them to retreat long enough, you can get out of the situation. So Alex taught me some things that a guy built like me can do against the big guys.”  
“Well, he did a good job teaching you.”  
“She.”  
“Really?” He nodded. “She must be a badass.”  
“Total badass.”  
“Wow. So this was at that private security firm?”  
“Yeah.” He didn’t look at her.  
“Must have been some intense security.”  
“They had some unusual people to take care of.”  
She sensed that he wasn’t telling her everything. She didn’t press him. He had the right to his privacy. The more they got to know each other, the more she realized he had a lot of secrets. Sometimes she would see a look of pain on his face. He’d shake it off quickly and she’d have missed it if she didn’t like looking at him so much.  
They’d become really good friends, but for her there was something more. She was falling for him. She’d never really had any serious boyfriends before. Maybe that was why an extremely cute guy who shared her interests and was super nice became the object of her affection. Maybe. But she had a feeling it was him. He was special. Even with his secrets.  
She thought that she should lighten the mood.  
“So, the New York Comic-Con is coming up. Wanna go?”  
“Uh, yeah! Of course I do. Wait, are we cosplaying?”  
“I’d love to. But rented costumes are lame. And I can’t sew.”  
He smiled. “I can.”  
“Okay, interesting. But have you ever made a really cool costume?”  
He chuckled. “You have no idea. Um, yes I have.”  
“Learning more and more cool things about you everyday. Then I guess we’re cosplaying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos! I know others are reading, I'd love to know what you think and if you are also JJ lovers like me!


	5. Chapter 5

She was able to get her stuff unpacked fairly quickly. The loft was rather small where the bed (futon) was, with only enough space for her clothes and her TV. Winn had also made space in his living room by moving one of his desktops into his bedroom. 

That was the computer he used to hack into the DEO. He might not be working there, but he still had an interest in them. And he mostly just looked around on what was going on. Although one time, he saw something that was wrong. He couldn’t help but make the correction. They had realized that someone else was in there and changed all the access codes. It took him two days to figure it out. From then on he decided to not change anything.

He also hacked into the prison system regularly to make sure his father was safe and sound in his cell.

At any rate, it was better if Sam didn’t see any of that work.

Once she was unpacked and had her TV and computers set up, she said, “Okay, I’ll buy the pizza, you pick the movie.”

“Sounds good.”

While eating pizza, he turned to her and said, “Thanks for trusting me about your father. I want you to know it won’t leave this room.”

“I appreciate that.” She hesitated. “You’ve never mentioned your family.”

“They’re not a part of my life.”

She nodded. “Sorry my dad was such a loser. I’m really not anything like him, I swear. I know that’s hard to believe.”

He chuckled. “As far as fathers go, I think I take the prize for bad ones.”

She looked at him, waiting to see if he wanted to say more. He picked up his beer and took a swig before speaking.

“My father’s in prison.”

“Eek, that sucks.”

“He deserves to be. He killed six people.”

“Winn, that’s awful.”

“And he even escaped once and almost made me kill someone.”

“Winn, I can’t believe anyone could make you do that.”

“He had his ways. Luckily, I had some help and it didn’t happen. He’s back in jail now and hopefully, that’s where he’ll stay.”

“It hurts doesn’t it? And it makes you wonder if you have the capacity to be like him.”

“Yeah, it does. But I’ve worked hard not to be. And I’m guessing you have too.”

She nodded. They were silent for a few moments, then she took a deep breath and said, “Winn, I know that you have other secrets. I want you to know that you can trust me. But I will never ask you for them. Your secrets are yours. If you want to share, I’m here.”

He smiled and bumped his shoulder into hers. “Thanks.”

The next morning, Marni called her. “I just got the criminal report back on Winn. Did you know his father is in prison for murder?”

“Yes, I do.”

“That doesn’t bother you?”

“It doesn’t bother him that my father was a gambler that lost every penny he ever made, as well as a good bit of mine.”

Marni was quiet, then said, “Okay, I guess that makes sense. I just wanted to be sure you were aware. I’ll see you guys on Saturday.”

Sam realized she needed to tell Winn about the invitation.

“So my best friend is an overprotective mother hen and she wants to meet you before she’ll give her blessing to me living here.”

“Makes sense. You moved in with a guy, she wants to be sure I’m not a serial killer.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind going to her place for dinner next Saturday?”

“Can she cook?”

“Yes, she’s an amazing cook.”

“Cool. I haven’t had a home cooked meal in a long time. Should I bring wine?”

Sam was about to say yes, then remembered Marni’s condition and said, “No, I’ll get her favorite chocolates. Oh, maybe whiskey for her husband.”

Marni’s husband, Brad, couldn’t understand why they were entertaining a guy that wasn’t Sam’s boyfriend, but he’d learned a long time ago not to intrude on the relationship of his wife and her best friend. And he liked Sam, so if Marni thought this was important for her friend, he’d go along.

The dinner went off really well. The only awkward moment was when Brad asked Winn about living in National City.

“Ever been a bystander in any super human action?”

Winn hesitated, then said, “Everyone in National City is a bystander to that.”

“Yeah? Anything you can tell us about?”

“Not really.”

Sam knew Winn didn’t want to discuss his past, so she changed the subject quickly.

At one point, Marni said, “So did you tell Winn my big news?”

Sam looked at her. “Why would I? You said not to tell anyone.”

“Well, we’re at twelve now, so I’ve been announcing it. We’re pregnant!”

“Wow.” Winn said. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, we’re pretty happy.” She took her husband’s hand and smiled at him. He smiled back.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you, Sam, we’re moving. We found a house in Brooklyn that we’re buying. It has three bedrooms and a little apartment on the third floor. We should be able to move in before the baby comes.”

“That’s terrific!”

Winn watched them with a smile. This was what he needed. Nice, normal people. He glanced at Sam who was laughing with her friend and his smile widened.  
They were on the subway on their way home, when Sam got a text from Marni.

Marni: Okay, you can live with him.

Sam: Thanks, Mom!

Marni: Laugh, but someone has to watch out for you. Anyway, he seems really nice. We can dish at brunch, but as a lawyer, I can pick up if something’s off. He’s the real thing. And he’s is adorable.

Sam: Yes, he is.

She smiled and put her phone away, then looked at Winn sitting beside her.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yep.”

At their next brunch, Marni elaborated on her assessment of Winn. “Let’s put aside how cute he is – and he is really cute, but I don’t get any vibe from him that’s mean or evil. There’s some pain in his past, but he’s a good guy.”

“Yep, that’s what I think too.”

Marni stared at her for few moments. “There’s still a problem.”

Sam frowned, “What?”

“You really like him.”

She shrugged. “So? You already knew that?”

“I think he might like you too.”

“I don’t think so, but if he does, why is that a problem?”

“You’ve never fallen hard for someone before. This guy could have the tools to really break your heart.”

“Winn Schott is too nice a guy to break my heart.”

“Even a nice guy can break your heart if you love him more than he loves you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is enjoying this. Thanks for the kudos. :Love to hear from readers.


	6. Chapter 6

Living together was both easier and harder than either of them had believed. Easier because they worked the same schedule and enjoyed the same things. Harder because both of them were fighting a major attraction to each other.

Sam had hoped that living with him would lessen the attraction. After all, guys can be messy and annoying after long periods of time. But Winn was neither. He wasn’t super neat, but neither was she and he managed to pick up after himself eventually. He made stupid jokes that she loved. He always picked out movies that she enjoyed. Neither of them liked to cook, so take-out and easy microwave foods were their daily fare and they agreed on all of it.

He just became more attractive to her daily. But she knew what could happen if she told him. If he didn’t feel the same, it would be awkward between them.

Which was the same thing he was thinking. He remembered when he’d tried to kiss Kara and then told her how he felt. He’d been unable to face her afterwards until the Black Mercy had attacked her. Almost losing her had ended the awkwardness and made them friends again. But he and Sam lived together and couldn’t afford for that to happen to them.

But it was hard. And he was a man. Friend zones were fine, but they didn’t relieve the tension. She must have some too, since she didn’t date. He thought of offering a ‘friends with benefits’ scenario, but in his experience, they never ended well. And the friendship ended as well.

Which was why, during one of their office happy hours at a local bar, he wasn’t adverse to the woman that hit on him. She was attractive and even though he could see she was trying to make another guy jealous, she also had her tongue down his throat and was fondling his pants. No matter the reason, it felt good.

If all the blood from his brain hadn’t headed south, he probably would have realized that bringing her to his apartment wasn’t the best idea, but there’s only so much thinking a man can do in that situation.

Sam had been talking to some other people and had lost track of what Winn was doing. When she was ready to leave, she looked for him, but he was nowhere to be found.

She asked others from their department if they knew where he was.

One guy told her, “He left with a woman.”

“Woman? What woman?”

“The one that was all over him. They hardly came up for air.”

She felt like a rock had just lodged in her gut. Of course he found a woman. He was adorable. And he was a man.

She made her way home. When she entered the apartment, she saw his jacket thrown on the chair and also a pair of stiletto high heels on the floor. Since they weren’t his size, she had a sinking feeling that she knew who they belonged to.

Oh, god, she thought, he brought her here.

Then she heard noise from his bedroom. The door was closed, but the sounds were unmistakable.

No, she did not need to hear THAT! She went to her loft and turned on her TV, loud. Anything to drown out what was happening in his room.  
In said bedroom, the woman was doing lots of interesting things to him. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember her name, which was definitely a problem. Then he heard Sam’s TV.

Crap. She was home and obviously knew what was going on. She never played her TV that loud. At least she didn’t have super vision like Kara when she’d seen him and Siobbhan in the storage room. That had been awkward. He hoped this wouldn’t be quite as bad, but he wasn’t holding out too much hope.

He tried to rationalize it. This was just sex, nothing more. She’d come on to him and practically attacked him in the bar. What was a guy supposed to do?

Sam kept her TV on all night and eventually fell asleep. She turned it off when she woke up the next morning and listened, but she didn’t hear any uncomfortable noises. She went down to the kitchen and started the coffee.

She was just pouring herself a cup, when she heard a noise behind her. Assuming it was Winn, she called out, “Coffee’s ready.”

But it was a female voice that answered. “Oh, thanks, I could really use one.”

Sam turned to see a woman with long blonde hair putting on the stiletto heels that were still on the floor.

“Uh, okay.” Sam said. She of course wasn’t intending to offer coffee to this woman. But apparently she was.

“Late night. You know how it goes.” The woman said with a wry smile.

“Sure.” Sam said, thinking, no, I don’t. I don’t go to bed with strangers on a regular basis. Or at all.

Winn opened his eyes and realized he was alone in his bed, but the bedroom door was open. He could hear voices in the other room.

Shit! That meant whatever-her-name-was and Sam were chatting. He jumped out of bed, bumped his knee on the end table, causing him great pain, but stopping him from running out the room, which was a good thing, since he was naked. He grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and pulled them on as quickly as he could, which also wasn’t a good idea, as the zipper caught on a sensitive part of his anatomy. He winced, but kept going. Physical pain was nothing compared to whatever was happening out there.

He bounded out of the bedroom to see Sam and anonymous woman drinking coffee. Sam raised her eyes to him and the look on her face was murderous. No-name-lady turned and said, “Oh, hi. Your roommate gave me some coffee. But I really have to get out of here. Busy day, you know?”

“Yeah, sure, um yeah.” He sputtered.

“So, um, last night was cool.”

“Yeah, for me too.”

She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “You are really cute. So, anyway, thanks and I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, sure.”

She headed out the door and slammed it behind her.

Winn looked again at Sam. Now she looked disgusted.

“Sorry about that, I, uh…”

“No problem.” She said in a flat voice. “It’s your apartment, you can bring home anyone you want.”

“I know, it’s just that we never talked about bringing dates home or anything.”

“Obviously, you can.”

“Well…”

“Look, I can’t talk about this right now. I’m going out.”

“Sam, please.”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

She rushed out of the apartment, not even knowing where to go. But of course there was only one place that she could go.

Marni opened the door, a little surprised to see Sam standing there. But one look at her face told her a lot.

“Uh oh, what’d he do?” she asked as she closed the door behind Sam.

“Brought some slutty woman home last night.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re dating. He has the right to…”

“I know!”

“But that doesn’t stop it from hurting.”

“Nope.”

Thanks to her pregnancy, Marni had junk food that she wouldn’t usually stock. “Okay ice cream or cookies?”

“Both.”

“You got it.”

Eventually, she made her way home. He was watching TV, but he turned it off when she came in. He had a sheepish look on his face, which was sort of cute, considering he really didn’t owe her anything.

“So.” He said. “Are we cool?”

“Sure. As I said, it’s your apartment. You can bring home anyone you want.”

“I know, it’s just that we never talked about bringing dates home or anything.”

“Obviously you can. So does that mean I can as well?”

The thought of her sleeping with some random guy made him sick to his stomach, but he said, “Of course, sure.”

She snickered. “Don’t worry, that’s not happening.”

“Why not?”

“For one thing, I don’t pick up strange men in bars, like your friend—what’s her name?”

“Uh…”

“You don’t know, do you?”

He looked sheepish again. “Although I don’t think she knew mine either.”

“Men are such pigs.”

“I’ll agree with you there. Look, that’s not my habit either, but it was a long time since…”

She put her fingers in her ears. “I don’t want to hear about this.”

He moved to get a beer, then stood beside her. “Why else?”

“What?”

“You said for one thing. What’s the second thing?”

She sighed. “I’m not very good at relationships. I’ve never had any that lasted more than a few weeks.”

“Wow, we really have a lot in common.”

She gave him a confused look.

“After and during a long bout of unrequited love, which culminated in her choosing a different guy, I had a mostly sexual relationship with a lunatic and then what I thought was a good one with someone who used me to commit a crime.”

“Eek, that sucks. Mine were just boring. At least for the guys.”

They smiled at each other, small sweet smiles. He wanted to lean in and kiss her, but that hadn’t worked out well for him in the past.

She wished he would kiss her, because she didn’t have the guts to kiss him. They stared at each other for some time before her phone beeped and they broke their gaze.

That day and their honest conversation seemed to mark a new point in their relationship. Without even realizing it, they began to touch one another. A hand on a knee. An arm around a waist. A head on a shoulder while watching TV together. Nothing sexual about the touches, but there was still something intimate.


	7. Chapter  7

It was the six month anniversary of James’ death. Winn had kept track of every day. But six months seemed especially momentous. Half of a year. He stayed home from work, telling Sam he had a headache. Which wasn’t a lie.

When she came home, she found him sitting on the sofa with no TV on and a bottle of whiskey in front of him.

“Didn’t think that stuff helped a headache.” She said.

“For this one it does.”

“Okay. Anything I can help you with.”

“Nope.”

“Okay then.” She started to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Stay.”

“Okay.” She sat beside him. She was quiet. If he wanted to talk to her, he would.

After what seemed like hours spent in silence, he finally spoke. “A friend of mine was killed six months ago today.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He took another drink of his whiskey. “It was my fault.”

“Well, that sucks.”

He looked at her. “You aren’t going to tell me it wasn’t my fault like my friends tried to.”

“I don’t know what happened. How can I tell you that? Also, whether it was or not, you believe it was and have been beating yourself up about it since before I met you, so that really sucks.”

“How do you know I’ve been beating myself up?”

“I can see the pain in your eyes when you think no one is looking.”

He stared at nothing for a while, then when he spoke, it was very quietly. “How much can I trust you?”

“Loyalty means everything to me. If you choose to tell me something, it will NEVER leave this room. I won’t even bring it up unless you do. I have been burned by people in the past. The only other person I trust is Marni, but I won’t tell her anything you tell me. I won’t ever betray a friend’s trust.”

He nodded. “At my last job, my friend James was doing some, we’ll call it crime fighting and my job was to be in a van and guide him. Tell him what was happening, etc.”

She frowned. “At the private security firm?”

He stared at his drink for a moment. “It wasn’t exactly a private security firm. It was a government thing.”

Her eyes widened. “A government agency? Which one? FBI? CIA?”

“No. It was sort of a secret one.”

“Secret? Like a black ops?”

“No, not that…well, kind of. But like really important stuff.”

“How did you get involved in that?”

“Through a friend.”

“Wow. So your friend got you into this and then died?”

“No, well, a different friend got me in. She didn’t die. My other friend, James, he’s the one who died.”

“Okay, so you’re working for a secret government agency and you’re working with your friend. He was out there fighting bad guys I assume? And you were telling him what to do?”

“Yeah. Well, he did have this really awesome suit to protect him.” 

“The agency gave him a suit?”

“He was actually working kind of tangentially to the agency. They didn’t give him the suit.”

“Where did he get it?”

“I made it.” Despite the sadness about James’ death, there was a bit of pride about the suit.

“Wow. But that day, it didn’t protect him?” she asked in a low voice.

“No. Well, he came up on an adversary that almost no one could defeat.”

“So what exactly did you do wrong?”

“I was supposed to guide him, to help him survive and beat the bad guy.”

“So you didn’t guide him?”

“I did, but this…guy was too strong for him.”

“So, again, what did you do wrong?”

He looked at her. Then he thought again about that night. He’d done everything the way he should. He’d even run the suit through a check-up that day and done a diagnostic on the equipment in the van. He had also warned James that this guy had been tough and maybe he should leave it to Supergirl. But James had been adamant.

Winn looked at Sam. “You know, I really didn’t do anything wrong.”

She rubbed his leg. “Sometimes, no matter what we do, how hard we try, things just happen. We don’t have control over everything. I know you’re a guy who would like to, but…”

“Here’s the thing: I don’t have control over many things in my life. My father killed people and tried to take me down with him. Leaving me to grow up in a foster home where you literally have nothing. My love life has been completely out of my control every time. But when I’m in front of a computer, I have power. I can do anything. Nothing is beyond me.” He hesitated for a moment.

“So when that failed me, I kind of fell apart.”

“But it didn’t fail you. You said this guy was bigger, stronger, whatever, really hard to defeat. So what else could you have done to prevent James’ death?”

He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it. He thought for a few minutes. She kept rubbing his leg.

“Nothing. I really couldn’t have done anything.”

“Didn’t your friends point that out to you?”

“To tell the truth, I never gave them the chance. I left quickly and never said goodbye to them. Not even my best friend.”

She punched him lightly on the arm. “Dude! That’s not cool. Let me tell you, if you walk out on me without saying goodbye, I will hunt you down and you will regret it.”

He smiled, then got pensive again staring at the floor. When he looked up and into her eyes, he asked, “Can I really let go of this guilt?”

She took his hand. “Guilt is really hard to get rid of. I know. I blamed myself for my dad. Did I want too many things? A new video game or movie? Was that why he gambled? For a little while in high school, I stopped eating, thinking that if I didn’t cost him any money… Even getting that loan was part of my guilt because he’d spent so much money raising me.

“Eventually, I realized it wasn’t because he needed money. He had a decent job. We lived in the Bronx, it wasn’t expensive there. He gambled because he liked to. Or maybe he had to, it was an addiction. Doesn’t matter, it wasn’t because of me. It still hits me sometimes, but for the most part, I’ve put the guilt behind me and I remember the good times we had together. If you can do that, you’ll be happier.”

He smiled and pulled her into a hug, one that he held longer than he probably should have, but it felt good to hold her.

She melted into his embrace, inhaling him and wishing he would continue to hold her.

He finally pulled back, but their eyes met as he did. God, he wanted to kiss her. He hated holding back his feelings, but he remembered what happened with Kara. He couldn’t risk that. Sam was beginning to mean even more to him than Kara had.

Some of the weight of guilt began to lift from him after that and he was able to look at his life through clearer eyes.

He had a good job, not exciting, but it paid well. He had a good friend/roommate that he was starting to develop feelings for. They had fun together. And maybe sometime soon, he would contact friends in National City.

That contact happened sooner than he’d anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying this story, you may be happy to know that I'm working on a sequel. But don't worry, this one still has lots to go. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

They were watching TV, sitting in a manner that seemed natural to them, but was actually very intimate. Her head was on his shoulder, his arm was draped loosely around hers. 

This quiet intimacy was interrupted by the sound of knocking.

“Someone’s knocking?” she asked. “Why didn’t the buzzer downstairs ring?”

Winn got up and went to the door. He looked out the peephole, then opened the door and glanced down the hallway, but no one was there.

The knocking continued.

“It’s the window, Winn! Someone is on the fire escape. I’m calling 911.” Sam said, reaching for her phone.

“Hold up.” He went to the window and peered out. Then he took a deep breath and opened it.

A man walked in. His skin was the color of rich, dark chocolate and there was a serious expression on his face. He was dressed in black and Sam was alarmed.

“Winn, what are you doing?”

But he wasn’t listening to her. He said to the man, “J’onn, what are you doing here?”

“Winn, I’m sorry to interrupt you.” He glanced at Sam. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. We need your help.

“J’onn…”

“More precisely, SHE needs your help.”

“Excuse me,” Sam interrupted. “Can I find out who your friend is and why he chooses to come in through the fire escape and not the door?”

“Sorry,” Winn said, “J’onn, this is my friend and roommate, Sam. Sam, this is J’onn Jonzz, my former boss.”

“From the secret government agency?”

Winn nodded, but J’onn glared at him. “You told her about…”

“Not everything. Not the name or what you do or who’s there.”

Sam looked at the two men. “Do you need me to leave?”

“Yes.” Jonn said.

“No.” Winn said. “I trust her. J’onn, you have lots of people who can—“

“Not do what you can.” He glanced at Sam attain. “You understand the language. Can we discuss this in private, Agent Schott?”

“That’s Mister Schott. I’m not your agent any more. So if you want me to help you, you’d better explain what you need.”

J’onn sighed. “There’s a vortex. She’s caught in it. Su…her cousin sent us something, but he was caught as well before he could translate it. It’s in their language.”

Sam wondered what sort of language no one but Winn understood. She’d also picked up the word ‘agent’. Working IT at a government agency and being an agent were two different things.

Winn looked exasperated. “You mean no one else took the time to learn Kryptonian?”

“Kryptonian?” Sam asked. ”Is this for Supergirl?” The men nodded. She turned to Winn. “You lied to me! You said you didn’t know her.”

“No, I didn’t lie. You asked if I had ever seen her. I said you couldn’t live in National City without seeing her.”

“Lie of omission, Schott.”

He managed to look sheepish, but then turned back to J’onn. “So all you need me to do is translate Kryptonian?”

“Not just that. Once it’s translated, a program has to be written that will save both of them.”

“Both?” Sam said. “Oh, jeez, ‘he’ is Superman. I suppose you’ve met him too?”

Winn nodded, then sighed. “I assume there is a time constraint?”

“The longer they’re in it, the harder it will be to get them out.”

“Okay, can I do it from here?”

“Yes, I can give you access to our system.”

Winn gave him a withering look. “Really? You’re giving ME access?”

J’onn shook his head. “I should have known. Have you just looked around or did you do anything?”

“I may have fixed something once.”

“We wondered why a hacker would only correct something and do nothing else. We added extra security after that.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good. It took me two days to get back in.”

While they were talking, Winn sat down at the living room computer. He didn’t usually use this one for DEO hacking, but this was a special circumstance.

“This has to be on a secure system.” J’onn told him.

“And you think mine isn’t?” Winn rolled his eyes. “You want my help and yet you insult me.”

J’onn smiled briefly and watched as the young man quickly got into the DEO’s system.

”Okay, so I translate it and write the new program right? But won’t it have to be implemented after that?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s going to take too much time. I’ll translate and write it.” He turned to Sam. “You can do the implementing.”

“What?” she said. “You want me to work on this?”

“Agent—Mister Schott, she does not have security clearance. And her computer is not secure.”

“First, yes it is.” Winn said.

“It is?” Sam asked.

“Sure. I made sure it was. Everyone should have a secure computer. No one wants hackers getting into their bank accounts.”

“Well, thank you.” She said.

“And second,” Winn told J’onn. “I told you, I trust her. Do you think I’d let anyone move in with me that I didn’t run a full check on?”

“Wait, what? You ran a security check on me?”

“Of course. Look, we can talk/argue about this later. You’re almost as fast as me, so you can do the implementation.”

“Almost?”

Winn went to her computer and logged her into the DEO as he said, “We can talk/argue about that later too. Right now, get over here.”

He showed her what he needed her to do and she sat down. He began working and within minutes, he was sending information to her and she did her part.

They worked together in silence for some time. J’onn watched them for a while, then losing patience with just watching, he walked around the room and looked out the window at the lights of New York City shining in front of him. He’d been here before, soon after he’d arrived from Mars, but he’d never really had time to look at the city. Unfortunately he didn’t have time now.

Finally, Winn lifted his hands from the computer. “My part’s done. Sam?”

“Almost there, yes, done!” She turned to look at him.

“Cool. Now we need to upload everything and wait to be sure it worked.” He turned again, then said to J’onn. “We should know in about fifteen minutes.”  
J’onn nodded.

“Do you mind if I ask a dumb question?” Sam said.

“Go ahead.” Winn said.

“Can you or your friend tell me why he came in the window instead of the door?”

Winn looked at J’onn. “You wanna handle this or should I?”

“You’re sure you trust her?” J’onn asked him. Winn nodded. “Then go ahead.”

Winn looked at her. “Well, when you’re flying without an airplane, landing on a fire escape is less noticeable than landing on the street. Especially in New York.”

“Flying without an airplane? Are you from Krypton too?”

“No, I am not from Krypton.” J’onn told her.

“Closer to home. He’s from Mars.”

“M-Mars? I had no idea there was anyone from Mars on earth.”

“There isn’t. I’m an anomaly.”

Since he didn’t elaborate on his story, Winn didn’t either.

“And you can fly?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Wow.” She thought for a moment, then said to Winn, “So you ran a security check on me?”

“Sure I did. From where I worked, I learned to check everything out first.”

“So you knew about my dad before you asked me?”

“Not everything. And I wanted to hear what you had to say about it.”

“Feels like deception to me. Just like the stuff about Supergirl. So you know her? Worked with her?”

“More than that.” J’onn said. “He’s her best friend.”

Winn stared at the floor. “Probably not anymore. After the way I left…”

J’onn shook his head. “Still. Yes, she was devastated when you left, but she understood. She still considers you her friend.”

Winn smiled, glad to know that.

“Her best friend?” Sam said, “So you know her true identity?”

Winn nodded and said, “But that I’m not telling you. That’s not my secret to tell.”

“Okay, I get that.”

The computer beeped and they returned to their seats.

“Done!” Winn said. “It should be working now.”

J’onn took out his phone and pushed a button. The person on the other end answered immediately and whatever was said was good news because the Martian simply said. “Alright, good. I’ll be back soon.” He turned to Winn and Sam. “Alex said she’s coming out of it.”

Winn smiled. “Yes.”

Same smiled too, then said, “Alex—the badass lady that taught you self-defense?” 

He nodded.

J’onn smiled. “She is pretty badass. Ag—Mister Schott, thank you. You know that Supergirl is going to want to thank you personally.”

He stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “Tell her she can.”

J’onn smiled, shook both their hands and went out the window. Sam couldn’t stop herself from going to the window to watch him. She was amazed to see him change into a large, green reptilian creature and then take off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this didn't get posted last night. I was hosting my daughter's graduation party and I was exhausted. But since I had to break in the middle of the scene, you'll get another chapter tonight. Thanks for the kudos and comments!


	9. Chapter 9

“I don’t know about you, but I could use a beer.” She said.

“Sure, get me one too.”

She pulled two bottles out of the fridge and after handing one to him and sitting beside him, said, “Wow, if you had told me this morning that an alien would be standing in our apartment and that I would watch him fly off, I would have had you committed.”

He laughed.

“And how did he change into…whatever he changed into?”

“He’s a shape-shifter. His race can take any form they choose. One of the bad ones even took my form once.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he secured me in this netting and pretended to be me. When they do that, they retain all your knowledge and memories. He used my skills to set our system to self-destruct. Luckily, they figured it out in time, freed me and I was able to stop it.”

“Wow. Okay, I think I’ve said wow more times today than I have in the last year. Or maybe ever. And I bet you have more things that would wow me.”

“Probably.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. She finished her beer—much too quickly – and rose to get another. He watched her quizzically. She usually nursed one beer all evening. But he didn’t say anything.

“This has to be a confusing night for you.” He said.

“That’s an understatement!” she drained the second bottle, then went to the fridge and pulled out a third.

“Are you sure you want another beer? Your limit is usually one.”

“It’s not every day that I help to save Supergirl and Superman’s lives.”

“True.”

She sat down again and stared at him for a while.

“What?” he asked.

“You really are a hero, aren’t you?”

“Nah, just an IT guy who got lucky.”

She smiled. God, he wanted to kiss her! But what if it turned out like the time with Kara? He couldn’t avoid her and wait for some alien curse to restore their friendship. But he couldn’t keep holding back and waiting for women to literally jump him before he did anything.

Courage, dude, he told himself.

He leaned in, slowly and gently placed his lips on hers, holding his breath for the rejection he was used to.

But there was no rejection. Her eyes flew open wide, then closed as she leaned into the kiss.

“Okay,” he said, a little breathless, “You need to get some sleep.”

“But…”

“No, we’ll talk in the morning. I promise.”

He stood up and reached out a hand. She took it and rose. He led her to her bed in the loft, kissed her on the forehead and said, “Good night.”

“Good night.”

She watched him walk away, a little confused. Even after three beers, kissing him was like a shot of double espresso. She was wide awake.

Why did he stop? Maybe kissing her wasn’t as exciting as kissing…Supergirl. J’onn had said that Winn and Supergirl were best friends. Winn had told her he’d suffered unrequited love for a friend. It didn’t take mad math skills to figure out that equation.

Or maybe that wasn’t in the past. Judging by his face when they’d talked about her, it was possible he was still in love with her.

She took out her tablet and looked up the articles about Supergirl and pictures. 

Supergirl was beautiful. But even more important she was strong and brave and saved people’s lives. She was literally super human. Sam was a human being and a not very impressive one. She had hoped there might be a chance for the two of them. But how does a below average human compete with Supergirl?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one is a little short, but you did get a chapter this morning! Besides, this is a good place to break and leave a little suspense. Did he enjoy kissing her or not? Is she right or wrong? Tune in tomorrow! Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

She finally fell asleep and slept in the next day. When she did wake up, she could smell coffee, which meant he was up. She lay in bed for as long as she could, nervous to face him.

Then she chastised herself for being a coward. Also, she needed that coffee. And an aspirin. Three beers were way too much for her.

She headed to the kitchen and saw that he had her mug out, with an Equal packet and a spoon beside it. He was pouring cereal into bowls. He turned when he heard her.

“Good morning. How are you feeling?”

“Ugh. Don’t ever let me drink again.”

He smiled. “Coffee is ready.” He poured her a cup, added the sweetener and stirred it. He pushed it towards her, then put the aspirin bottle on the counter.

“You really are a hero.” She sipped the coffee, then took out two aspirin.

He got serious. “About last night…”

Before he could finish, she said, “It’s okay. If you didn’t like kissing me, that’s alright. I understand.”

He frowned. “Who said I didn’t like it?”

“You stopped.”

“You were tired and had a little too much to drink. I don’t do that. I prefer a woman to know what she’s doing. “

She was silent, chewing on her bottom lip as she stared at the floor.

“Why would you think I didn’t like it?” He asked her.

She shrugged. “Maybe you compared it to kissing someone else.”

“I told you, there haven’t been many relationships in my life.”

“Maybe you compared it to kissing Supergirl.”

He stared at her. “I never kissed Supergirl. Okay, I tried to once, but she wasn’t interested.”

“But you are in love with her.”

He took a deep breath and walked to the window. Looking out at the buildings in view, he told her, “I was, a long time ago. But she never felt the same about me. And now she’s involved with someone else.”

“That doesn’t mean you stopped loving her.”

“No, but I did. At least like that. I will always love her as my best friend, but not as anything else.”

“You have to understand, it’s a little intimidating. I barely have the capacity to compete with a normal human woman, but when I have to compete against someone who is literally superhuman…”

He went to her and put his hands on either side of her face and looked directly into her eyes. “You don’t have to compete with anyone. Not for me. But if you did, you would come up ahead of any superhero.”

He saw her eyes filling up at his words, so he leaned in and kissed her, removing his hands from her face to wrap them around her waist. Her arms came up around his neck as she kissed him back.

When they finally came up for air, they were still holding on to each other and they smiled.

“Winn,” she said quietly, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been involved with anyone. I really like you, but can we take our time before, uh…”

“Before sex? Yeah, we can take as long as you’d like.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

“I’m sure. My last two relationships began with sex. I barely knew them. And, hey, I’m a guy, so I didn’t say no. But it would have been nice to get to know a woman before. So, yeah, I’m sure. We can take our time. Wait until it feels right for both of us. Oh, and by the way, I really like you too.”

She hugged him.

He laughed and said, “Okay, let’s have breakfast. I have your favorite cereal.”

“Frosted Mini-Wheats?”

“Of course.”

“You are an exceptional man and truly a hero.”

They spent the rest of the day together, doing things not too different from other days they’d spent together, except for occasionally holding hands and kissing under a tree in Central Park. They stopped for dinner at a little place they both liked. 

Over fish tacos, Sam looked up and asked him, “Will Supergirl really be visiting us?”

“Probably. I told J’onn she could. I know she could have found me, but between my letter and J’onn, she knew not to look. I was kind of afraid she was mad and wouldn’t want to see me.”

“But J’onn said she isn’t.”

“No, she isn’t. She’s a really kind person, so I’m not surprised. But, yeah, now that I said it’s okay and after saving her and Superman, I’m sure she’ll come.”

“Should we leave the window open?”

He laughed. “Well, this is still New York. Let’s not chance it.”

When the bill came, he tried to pay the whole thing, but she insisted they split it as they usually did.

“This isn’t a date. This is just us, Winn and Sam, having fun together like normal.”

“Okay, so if I take you out on a real date, you let me pay?”

“Sure.”

“Fine. Would you like to go to dinner with me next Saturday night?”

She stared at him for a moment. “Wow, I haven’t been on a real date in a long time.”

“Me neither. So let’s do it right. Let’s get dressed up and go to a fancy place.”

“Dressed up?”

“Well, whatever you feel comfortable in. But I’ll make a reservation at a good restaurant so that we can have an official first date.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

They went home and cuddled on the sofa to watch a movie. But as it was one they’d already seen, they spent most of it making out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How does everyone fell about them getting together? Let me know!


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Sam texted Marni: Need to talk to you. Lunch?

Marni: Sure. 12:15

Whenever they met for lunch, it was always at the same place. Sam arrived first, but Marni came rushing in a few minutes later.

“Sorry, I was questioning a witness.”

“If you were busy, we could have…”

“Nah, I needed to get away. So what’s up?”

Sam smiled. “So, yesterday, Winn and I, uh…”

“You had sex!”

“No! But we kissed. A lot. Lots and lots of kissing.”

“Oh, my god, what happened to change the status quo?”

“Some revelations about his past—that I can’t tell you, but nothing bad. And I drank a few too many beers and we kissed, then the next day we talked and decided to start dating.”

“Oh my god. This is terrific. Now about sleeping with him…”

“We’re taking it slowly. We both want to be sure before we go there.”

“Good idea.”

“He’s even taking me on our first official date on Saturday.”

“Ooh, where are you going?”

“Not sure, but he said someplace fancy. So, I’m gonna need your advice.”

Marni got excited. “Oh, am I finally going to be able to give you a makeover?”

“No, I just thought a nice, inexpensive outfit, maybe some new slacks and—“

“Oh, no, girl, you are getting a dress, shoes, the works.”

“I hate dresses and I can’t afford all that.”

“It’s on me. Don’t fight. I’ve been waiting to do this since we were eighteen and you refused to dress up for anything in college. Meet me at Bloomingdale’s tonight after work.”

“Marni—“

“No arguments. We are doing this.”

Sam knew better than to argue with her friend when she was like this.

When they were leaving work, Sam told Winn she wasn’t going home.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I’m meeting Marni. We’re going shopping.”

“Shopping? You never shop.”

“Marni insisted I get something new for our date.”

Winn looked at her. “You don’t have to do anything different. You’re terrific just the way you are.”

She kissed him on the cheek and said, “Thank you. But this could be kind of fun. I’ll see you later.”

“Be careful coming home. Call me if it’s late and I’ll meet you.”

She smiled and waved goodbye and she headed for the subway that would take her to 59th and Lexington, thinking what a sweet guy he was.

Marni was like a whirlwind in the store. She shopped there often so the clerks all knew her. She wouldn’t let Sam head for slacks or anything “boring”. She took her to the designer dresses and pulled out a few black ones.

“Every woman needs a little black dress.” Marni told her.

Sam glanced at the price tag and said, “Oh my god, no! I can’t afford this!”

“I told you this is on me. And no arguments from you.”

Sam shut her mouth and let Marni guide her. She tried on what felt like a million dresses. Marni liked several of them, but Sam didn’t want any that were too skimpy or too fussy. They finally decided on a simply cut black dress with a square neckline and wide straps on top. It was a-line and fell an inch or two above her knee. Sam actually liked the way it looked on her.

“Okay,” Marni said, “Now shoes.”

“Oh, no! I am not wearing those stiletto torture devices. I won’t look attractive if I’m tripping all over the place.”

“We’ll find you something that’s attractive without killing you. I know that if you aren’t used to wearing them, stilettos aren’t a good idea.”

Sam tried on a million more items. Then she found a pair of black patent leather sandals with a low heel, but lots of straps, making them really cute. Marni added black stocking to this purchase making Sam groan.

“What is the point of pantyhose?”

“Shut up.” Marni said, dragging her to accessories. She found a cute and tiny little black purse.

“Why?” Sam asked. “I keep my stuff in my pocket or my backpack.”

“You are not carrying a backpack on Saturday and there are no pockets in the dress.”

She added some silver costume jewelry, opting for a statement necklace and bracelet, since Sam’s ears weren’t pierced. She thought about having her pierce them, but that might be a fight and anyway, she’d only have the starter earrings.

“So,” Marni said, “As for makeup…”

“Do I have to? I hate makeup.”

“You hate all of this. But don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple. A little mascara and blush. Very light. You’ll be fine. But your hair, that’s another story. I’m making an appointment for you with my stylist on Saturday morning. Plan on spending the day with me. We need to do a manicure and pedicure too.”

“He’s not going to recognize me. Anyway, he said I was terrific just as I am.”

“That’s so sweet. But every guy says that. They still like to see their lady dressed up.”

“But…”

“Aren’t you looking forward to seeing him in a suit and tie?”

Sam thought about how cute Winn was in his cardigans and chinos. How much cuter would he be all dressed up?

“I guess so.”

“Unfortunately all guys need to do is shower, shave and comb their hair. Women have a lot more to do. But don’t you worry, I’m going to take care of you.”

Sam arrived home around ten. Winn was sitting on the sofa watching TV when she came in. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.

“Hey. No luck with your shopping?”

“No, we found everything.”

“Where are your bags?”

“At Marni’s. I am to be there early Saturday. She has the day planned: salons and spas, etc. I will be meeting you at the restaurant because she wants to check me before I leave.”

He grinned. “You know you don’t have to do all that for me.”

“I think I’m doing it for her. Anyway, I don’t really mind. I’ve never really dressed up for anything except her wedding.”

“No prom?”

“Nope. I wasn’t very popular and anyway my dad didn’t have the money for prom dresses. I wasn’t really into it anyway. How about you? Lots of proms?”

“Not really. I wasn’t very popular either. And kids in foster care don’t have the money either. But I did try to ask a girl in senior year. She said yes, then changed her mind when someone better asked her.”

“Foolish girl.” She said, as she went to him and put her arms around him.

He smiled. “So Saturday night will be our prom.”

“Yeah.”

He stood straight and said, “Miss Samantha Nolan, will you be my prom date?”

“I would be honored, Mister Schott.”

He kissed her then.


	12. Chapter 12

Saturday morning, she was finishing a quick bowl of cereal when he came out of his bedroom. He was attractively disheveled, with a t-shirt and pajama pants and his hair still mussed from his pillow.

Damn, she thought.

He went to her and pulled her into his arms. “Do you have to go? We could eat cereal, watch Saturday morning cartoons and make out.”

“I would so much rather do that! But Marni will kill me if I don’t go and I’m already late.”

He kissed her and said, “Then a few minutes more won’t matter.”

She kissed him back, then reluctantly pulled away. “It will be worth it when I’m gorgeous tonight.”

“You’re already gorgeous. You have the restaurant’s address? Remember, I’ll be waiting at the bar.”

“Yes, I know. And the address is in my phone. Okay, I’m out of here.” She gave him one more kiss, then was out the door.

He shook his head, then fixed a bowl of cereal and sat on the sofa, where he didn’t plan on moving from for most of the day.

After a day of torture (as far as Sam was concerned), she was finally ready for her date. Her hair had been trimmed and styled, her finger and toe nails buffed and polished. Her makeup was perfect and the perfume was lightly floral. The shoes hurt a bit, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Marni inspected her one more time, then put her in a taxi cab and waved goodbye.

She walked into the restaurant slowly, looking around at the bar. She saw him sitting at a high table and approached it. He was dressed in a dark suit with a crisp white shirt and a pale tie and his hair was neatly combed. He was scanning the room, so she stood still waiting for him to see her. He glanced past her twice before finally realizing. His eyes went wide.

“Sam?”

“It’s me.” She said with a nervous laugh.

He got down from the stool. “You look amazing. But, you always do. This is just different.”

She smiled and he kissed her lightly.

They were soon seated at their table and handed menus. She took a look at hers and let out a small sound.

“Winn, we can’t eat here.”

“Why not?”

“Did you see the prices? It’s twenty dollars for a salad. And oh my god, a steak is forty-five!”

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “I checked the prices before I made the reservation.”

“But…”

“This is our first date. Don’t expect this often, or probably ever again, but I wanted to do something for the beginning of our romantic relationship. And don’t be ordering the cheapest thing. This is one night for us to remember.”

“Okay.”

They dined on steak so tender it could be cut with a butter knife. Everything was exquisite.

The restaurant was near Central Park, so when they finished, he led her towards the park, where he motioned for a carriage.

“Winn, we don’t have to do that!”

“If we’re going to do romantic, let’s do it all the way.”

They got into the carriage and as it rode around the park, they snuggled and kissed.

When the ride was over, they got out and he said, “So what would you like to do now? We could go dancing or go to a …”

“Would you mind if we went home?”

He frowned, “Aren’t you having a good time?”

“I am having a wonderful time. This has been the most romantic evening ever. But there’s actually nothing more romantic to me than cuddling on the sofa with you and watching a cheesy old time sci-fi movie.”

He smiled and kissed her, then hailed a cab.

They were cuddled on the sofa, enjoying kissing each other more than the old movie. Both had changed out of their ‘date’ clothes into comfortable sweats and t-shirts.

The kissing was interrupted by the sound of knocking. They both sat up and looked at the door. When the knock came again, they realized it wasn’t at the door at all.

Sam motioned towards the window and said, “Honey, it’s for you.”

He went to the window and opened it. A woman with long blonde hair, a short skirt and a flowing red cape came in.

Even though Sam was expecting that she would come, seeing Supergirl standing in front of her was still a shock.

Winn was not as shocked. The two friends looked at each other and their eyes began to fill. Kara took the step and engulfed Winn in her arms.

“Oh, Winn, I’ve missed you so much."

“I’ve missed you too.” After a few moments, they broke apart and Kara glanced in Sam’s direction.

“Oh,” Winn said, “This is Sam. Sam, this is –“

Kara interrupted him. “Kara Danvers.” She held out her hand to the other woman.

Sam took it, slightly awed that Supergirl would reveal herself.

But Kara said, “You helped Winn save my life. And my cousin’s. Besides, if Winn trusts you, so do I.”

“Thank you.” Sam told her. “I’m honored.”

“Don’t be. I’m just a person.” Kara glanced back at Winn and Sam sensed that they wanted to talk privately.

“Are you hungry?” Sam asked her.

“Yes, she is.” Winn said.

Kara laughed. “He knows me. But yes, flying uses a lot of energy. I’m always hungry after.”

“And when you’re not flying.” He quipped.

“Look, I could run down to the bodega next door and get some…what would you like?”

“Donuts.” Winn and Kara said together.

Sam grabbed her jacket and wallet and left the apartment.

Winn sighed, “Kara, I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye ...”

“I was pretty mad at you for a while. But I missed you too much to be mad. And I guess I could understand that you were blaming yourself. Are you still?”

“Not really. Sam helped me put it into perspective.”

“So Sam. You two looked pretty cozy on the sofa.”

He smiled. “Yeah, well, we’re starting something, a little more than friendship. Tonight was actually our first date.”

“You like her?”

“Yeah, I do. A lot.”

She smiled. “Winn, I’m so happy that you’ve found her.”

“It’s pretty exciting.”

“And your job?”

“Not as exciting, but it pays the bills.”

“You know your old job is waiting for you if you want it.”

“I know.” He didn’t elaborate and she didn’t say more about it.

“And you like living in New York?”

“Yeah, it’s a fun city. How about you? Is Mon-el still…?”

“Yes, we’re still together.” She smiled. “He’s growing up day by day. Someday, he might even reach adulthood.”

Sam returned with the donuts. “Sorry, not much of a selection this time of night.”

They all dug in, Kara eating the most.

“Hey, is it okay if I crash on your sofa?” Kara asked. “I’m too tired to fly back to National City tonight.”

“Sure.” Sam said.

“No.” Winn said. Both women looked at him. “I’ll sleep on the sofa. You take my bed.”

“Winn, you don’t have to do that.”

“Of course I don’t. But I’m doing it anyway.”

Kara smiled at him and turned to Sam. “Have you got some clothes I can change into? It’s uncomfortable to sleep in my Supergirl suit.”

“I guess it is.” Sam agreed. “It’s a nice suit, though.”

“Thank you.” Winn said.

Sam stared at him while Kara laughed. “Why are you saying thanks?” she asked him.

“Because I made it.”

“No, you didn’t!”

“Yes, he did.” Kara told her.

“Told you I could sew.” He said smugly.

Sam just shook her head. “I’ll get you something to sleep in.”

While she did that, Winn went to his room to get changed. Kara glanced around the apartment. Not too different from his place in National City. Computers in a prominent place. Since Sam was an IT expert like Winn, that was no surprise.

She was happy she’d come to see him, but it was going to hurt again when she returned to National City and he wasn’t there. Missing your best friend sucked.

The next morning, Sam was up first and saw Winn still sound asleep on the sofa. She made coffee and was just pulling out mugs when Kara came out of Winn’s room. Sam put her index finger across her lips and pointed to Winn.

Kara whispered, “Let’s get the coffee and go into the bedroom.”

Sam nodded and after each woman prepared her own coffee, they quietly went to Winn’s bedroom.

Kara put her cup on the night table and sat cross legged on the bed. Sam felt a little uneasy to sit on his bed, so she sat on the floor.

“I’m really happy that Winn found you. He hasn’t had good luck with women and he deserves to be happy.”

Sam hesitated. Then decided to go for it. “He was in love you, wasn’t he?”

Kara looked down at her hands. “I think it was just a crush. We worked together and spent free time together as well. He didn’t really have any opportunity to meet anyone.”

“When you’re in the middle of a crush, it feels like love. Believe me.”

“I guess that’s true. I’ve had a few myself.”

“But you have a boyfriend now?”

“Yes, I do. And there is a difference.”

“Sure.” Sam took a deep breath. “I’ve had a crush on Winn since the day I met him. I thought he was the cutest guy I’d ever seen.”

Kara giggled. “He is cute. And I’m glad. I think he’s feeling the same about you.”

“Maybe. So, is your boyfriend cute?”

Kara smiled and pulled out her phone, then showed Sam a picture of Mon-el.

“Wow. That’s not just cute, that’s amazing.”

“Please don’t say that to him. He’s got a big enough head. But he’s a good guy too.” She looked at Sam. “But you still prefer Winn.”

“I do.”

There was a knock on the bedroom door. “Come in.” the said together.

Winn stepped in, looking a little confused at the two women. “What’s going on in here?”

“Oh, I’m just telling Sam all of your secrets, you know, all about old girlfriends and stuff.” Kara said.

With a scared look on his face, he started sputtering, “Uh, but…”

Both women laughed. “Relax.” Kara told him. “I didn’t tell her anything.”

“But interesting to know there is something she could tell that you don’t want me to know.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I could get info about you.”

“Marni would never betray me.”

“I’ll bet Brad knows as much as she does.”

“If he ever wants anything from his wife again, he won’t talk. But it doesn’t matter anyway. I told you before. My past is boring. But I’m guessing yours isn’t.”

“He’s a man.” Kara said. “Men are pigs.”

“Oh, I figured that out the night he brought home a woman and couldn’t even remember her name the next morning.”

“In my defense, I don’t think I knew it that night.”

“Winn!” Kara said, laughing and shaking her head.

They spent the rest of the day just laughing, catching up. Once it got dark, Kara changed into her suit. She hugged each of them and said, “I’m coming back to see you guys soon.”

“Bring Mon-el and stay for a few days. We’ll show you the city.” Winn said.

“Ooh, that would be fun! I’d love to see Hamilton.”

“Good luck.” Sam told her. “Those tickets are impossible to get.”

Kara smiled, “I have connections.”

With one more hug, she took off.

When she was gone, Winn turned to Sam. “Sorry if our first date didn’t turn out the way we wanted.”

“What are you talking about? We ate a fancy restaurant, took a carriage ride and then I got to meet Supergirl. It was amazing.”

He smiled and kissed her. “What did you think of her?”

“I like her. Which sucks.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to hate her. She’s Supergirl, literally super. And she’s beautiful. I was hoping she’d at least be a bitch. But no, she’s super nice too.”

He pulled her into his arms. “You’re pretty super to me.” He kissed her again.

She kissed him too, with more passion than she had ever felt before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice long chapter for you guys. For anyone who isn't familiar with the term, a 'bodega' is a small, local, privately owned convenience store. You can find them all around New York City. Not so many in Philly, but then again, we have Wawa, the best place in the world!


	13. Chapter 13

A few days later, Sam received a text from Marni: It’s time.

“Oh my God!” she said to Winn, “Marni’s having the baby.”

They rushed to the hospital, where Marni’s parents were in the waiting room. Sam had shared holiday dinners with Marni for years, so she knew them well.

She started to introduce Winn, but hesitated, “This is Winn, my…”

“I’m her boyfriend.” He said.

She smiled, happy that he said the word. The others were cordial, they liked Sam and were glad that she’d found an amiable guy.

It seemed to take forever, but eventually Brad came out to announce, “It’s a boy.”

Everyone laughed and cheered. A while later, Sam got a chance to see Marni. She hugged her friend.

“Congratulations, Mom!”

“Isn’t he beautiful?”

“He is. And now that you have an actual child, maybe you can stop mothering me.”

“Only if you don’t need me to.”

“Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see what happens.”

Sam tried to help out Marni whenever she could over the next few weeks. Mostly that involved just going to her place and allowing the new mother to get a shower or a nap. Or run a few errands. Anything to give her a break.

Time spent with Marni and the baby was fun for Sam, even though it took her away from Winn. As much as she wanted to be with him, there were reasons that made her want to be away.

After Kara‘s visit, Sam was very confused. On the one hand, she and Winn were officially dating, so there was lots of kissing, which was wonderful and she could hug him whenever she wanted to. On the other hand, she’d just met the woman he’d once been in love with and she was amazing.

How could he be happy with plain, boring Sam Nolan after Supergirl?

Winn knew there was something up. Sometimes she’d smile, kiss him and be happy. Other times, she’d pull back and away from him. He wondered if she was rethinking the decision to date him. But she still seemed to like kissing him and whenever he asked her, she’d tell him nothing was wrong.

Frustrated, he turned to the only person he could think of and called Marni.

“Hey could you meet me for coffee? And don’t tell Sam?”

“Why?” she asked, suspicious. “You know I tell her everything.”

“Look, it’s important. Please?”

“Okay, she’s actually babysitting tomorrow morning so that I can get my hair cut. I’ll meet you right after.”

She told him when and where and was only a few minutes late.

“So what can’t I tell my best friend?” she asked him.

“You know that we’re dating now, right?”

“Of course.”

“I’m not sure if she really wants to do that.”

“Of course she does.”

“Well, if so, she’s not doing a good job of convincing me.”

“Is this about sex?”

“No! It is not about sex! I told her I would wait until she’s ready and I will. No, she just doesn’t seem happy with me.”

Marni frowned. “That’s strange. I know she likes you. And she’s been wanting the two of you to get together.”

“She hasn’t said anything to you about problems with us?”

“To tell the truth, I’ve been a little preoccupied with a little human. But I’ll find out."

“Great. You won’t tell her I talked to you, right?”

“Not now. But I reserve the right to redirect.”

“Spoken like a lawyer.”

She smiled and went home. Sam was going to leave, but Marni asked her to stay.

“Now that I’m a boring old matron, I need to live vicariously through your exciting love life. So tell me how you and Winn are doing.”

“We’re fine.” Sam said with no emotion.

“Uh, oh trouble in paradise. What did he do?”

“Nothing. No, I’m crazy about him. I just don’t think he feels the same.”

These two really need to talk, Marni thought. In the meantime, she’d do what she could.

“He must have done something to screw this up.”

“No, he’s been wonderful.”

“So why do you think he doesn’t care?”

“Okay, so a friend of his came to visit. And he used to be into her. And she’s absolutely perfect. Beautiful, strong, has a fantastic job. And she’s really nice.”  
“She sounds super human. No one is that perfect.”  
“You have no idea.”  
“So big deal, she’s ‘perfect’. That doesn’t mean he’s still into her.”

“I know. But even if he isn’t, how do you go from someone like her to someone like me?”

Marni closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “How many years do I have to spend telling you how awesome you are?”

“You’re my best friend, you have to say that.”

“No, being your best friend means I can tell you when you’re being a dumbass. Like now. I know you care about him. You need to let him show you how much he cares about you.”

“I’m scared. I just can’t believe I can ever measure up to her. How long before he realizes that?” she shook her head. “I need to get home.”

“Thanks for babysitting.”

“Anytime, you know that.”

As soon as she left, Marni called Winn. “Meet me tomorrow morning. Same coffee shop.”

“Okay.”

The next day, when they were seated, Marni said, “She told me about your friend visiting.”

He got a panicked look. “What did she tell you about her?”

‘That she’s an amazing person – beautiful, interesting, nice, yadda, yadda. And that you were in love with her.”

“I wasn’t…it was a crush, that’s all. I was never involved with her.”

“See, here’s the thing. Sam has a real problem with self-confidence. The way she was raised, with her father’s gambling addiction, she grew up believing that she didn’t deserve anything. He probably reinforced that a little. Made it easier when he was gambling all his money instead of spending it on his daughter.”

“Yeah, she told me about some of that. And how she stopped eating in high school.”

“She scared the shit out of me when I heard that. I kept an eye on her after that to make sure she hadn’t developed an eating disorder. But that’s all part of it. She really cares about you, but after meeting your friend, she thinks she’ll never compare to her.”

“That’s ridiculous. I was never in love with…my friend. Not really. But I am in love with Sam.”

“Have you told her that?”

He looked down and shook his head.

“Okay,” she said, “The two of you really need to talk honestly. And you have to tell her how you feel.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Yes, it is. You love her, you tell her. You have three days.”

“What do you mean three days?”

“After three days, if you haven’t told her, I’m going to tell her that we’ve talked about her. “

“She won’t be happy about that.”

“Exactly.”

He nodded and began to think about how he could tell her.


	14. Chapter 14

He thought they could have another nice date and he could tell her how he felt then.

“Do you want to go out to dinner on Saturday?” he asked her.

“I promised Marni I would babysit so that they could finally get a night out.”

“Oh, okay.” 

He looked very dejected, so she said,

She asked him, “Wanna babysit with me?”

“Babysit? I’m not very good with babies.”

“Oh, I’ll do the work, your only duty is to make out with me on the sofa.”

He laughed. “I guess I can handle that. I have been missing you.”

“I’m sorry. I know I’ve spent a lot of time with Marni. But her sister drives her crazy and she needs the help.”

“It’s okay. It’s good that you want to help your friend. You’re a good person. It’s one of the things, I, um…”

“What? You what?”

“I don’t quite know how to say it. Maybe, you’re everything I never knew I always wanted.”

“What?”

“You make me want to be a better man.”

“I do what?”

“Most of all, I‘m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.”

Suddenly, there was a look of awareness on her face, but he continued anyway. “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

She smiled. “Winn, just say it.”

“I love you.”

"I know."

His mouth opened in shock. “Do you mean to tell me I memorize rom com lines for you and you respond with Empire Strikes Back?”

She giggled.

“Oh, you’re gonna be sorry for that!” He went to her and pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. She stopped laughing and kissed him back with all the passion she felt.

But then he stepped back and looked at her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“ ‘I know’ is funny, but it isn’t an answer. You didn’t say if you—“

“I love you.” She said quickly and went back to kissing him.

“Winn, I think I’d like us to, um…”

“To what? Say it, Sam, if it’s what you want.”

“I want you to make love to me. If you want to?”

He smiled. “You know I do.” He took her hand and led her into his bedroom.

A long time later, they lay holding each other.

“So, I’m thinking we start to take the next step together.” He said.

“What do you mean?”

“You move into this room.”

“But where will you sleep?” she asked with a giggle.

“Oh, you are asking for it!” he flipped over on top her and started to tickle her.

“No, no, no! Stop! I’m sorry!” she said in between laughing.

So her stopped tickling and kissed her again.

“Okay.” She said.

“Okay what?”

“I’ll move in here and we’ll be officially living together.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“Yes, I’m absolutely sure.”

Sam spent the next few days in whirlwind. Beginning a sexual relationship with Winn was fun and exciting. They couldn’t get enough of each other. They sped home from work each day.

Things calmed down with Marni, although at least one night a week, Sam spent time there so that the new parents could have some time alone. But otherwise, she spent all her time with Winn. Being in love with someone like him was wonderful. He was very sweet and did nice things for her all the time, like planning a night with her favorite food and movies. Sometimes they acted like silly teenagers, other times, they just sat quietly, holding each other and not talking at all.

It was the best time she ever had in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Points to anyone who can tell me what four movies he quoted when he told her he loved her. Bonus points if you picked up the Jeremy Jordan Easter egg in this chapter. Thanks for the comments and kudos! Love hearing form you guys.


	15. Chapter 15

One day, Winn received a text from Kara: 4 tickets Hamilton at box office for Saturday. Will be there Friday night.

When Winn told Sam, she shook her head in wonder. “How did she manage that?”

“She has connections.”

Kara and Mon-el arrived Friday after dark. After hugs, greetings and introductions, they sat down to pizza. Sam took a good look at Mon-el. He was ever more handsome than the picture Kara had shown her. But that wasn’t what made Sam happy. It was the way Kara looked at him and the way he looked at her. They really cared about each other. Then she glanced at Winn and saw that he was staring at her and he smiled. And she realized that the look he was giving her was the same as Kara gave Mon-el. She smiled too.

They had a fun day on Saturday, taking the ‘super’ couple to see New York sights, then had dinner and headed to the theater. Not only had Kara gotten them seats, she’d gotten center orchestra. Mon-el had to be educated on live theater, how it was different from movies and the etiquette involved.

Sam turned to Winn, “I’ve never asked if you liked theater.’"  
“Sure I do. I was a theater geek in school. Never did sports, but I worked the stage.”

“How come I never knew that about you? Can you sing?”

“You haven’t done karaoke with him?” Kara asked.

“No.”

“Oh, he’s wonderful!”

“Wow.” Sam said. “I’m going to have to enter him in a karaoke contest. But first, you’ll need to sing for me.”

Winn just smiled and raised his eyebrows before saying, “Will you make it worth my while?”

“Oh, yes.”

They both smiled as their eyes said more than the words could. 

On Sunday, after brunch, they were walking in Central Park and Sam was showing Mon-el the statues. Winn and Kara were hanging back and talking.

“Winn, you know you can come back to the DEO any time you want. J’onn would love to have you there. No one can do what you can.”

“You told me that before.”

“It’s still true.”

“I have a life here.”

“With a job you hate.”

“With a woman I love.”

“You could bring Sam. J’onn would probably give her a job too after saving me and Clark. But even if he didn’t, I could get her in at Catco.”

“I don’t know.”

“You told me how much you hate your job.”

“I never said that. I said it was not exciting.”

“The DEO is exciting.”

“It is that. Sometimes too exciting.”

She looked at him. “I know it won’t be the same with James gone, but it’s been a while and you said you’ve put it behind you.”

“I have. For the most part.”

“Look, just think about it.”

He nodded.

Sam and Mon-el returned to them, the Daxamite excitedly talking about the things he’d seen.

They finished out the day together and when it got dark, Kara and Mon-el got ready to leave.

When Kara hugged Winn, she told him, “Think about what I said.”

He nodded, “I will.” And they left.

Sam wondered what she’d said to him, but didn’t want to be too inquisitive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. And unfortunately there will be another one as I am going on vacation tomorrow and won't be back until Sunday. But you'll be happy to know that I am working hard on the sequel and plan to work on it on the bus to New York.


	16. Chapter 16

Over the next few days, she saw that he was preoccupied with something. Especially at work. She would ask him something, but it was as if he was in another world. She had to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention.

Since the office wasn’t the place to discuss it, she waited until they were at home. 

“Are you okay?” she asked him.

“Sure.”

“No, something’s bothering you. You’re not acting like yourself.”

“I’m fine!”

“You’re not. Look, I’ve been trying to give you your space, but I can tell something is wrong. Does it have to do with what Kara told you to think about?”

He was silent for a few moments, then said, “She told me my job was waiting for me if I wanted to go back to National City.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“I don’t know.”

She hesitated before saying, “Yes, you do. You want to go back. The decision wouldn’t be bothering you if you didn’t.”  
“I don’t know, maybe.”  
“You should go.”  
He looked confused. “You want me to go?”

“I want you to be happy. You’re obviously not happy here.” He started to say something, but she kept talking. “You hate the job. You’re bored silly. From what I’ve seen, the work you did in National City was interesting and exciting. And so were the people. And what you did was important, you helped save the world. Here, you’re helping someone save a lost document. No comparison.”

He smiled briefly, then said, “What about us?”

She stayed as composed as she could while saying, “Not as important as that work.”

It is to me, he thought. He wanted to ask her to go with him, but her response made him hesitate. Maybe she didn’t want him that much.

“I’ll think about it.” He said.

Sam did her best to not cry in front of him. He didn’t disagree with her that the job was more important than their relationship. She held back the tears and went into the other room.

She spent as much time as she could with Marni during the next few days so that he wouldn’t have her to distract him from his decision. Besides, she would probably need to get used to not being around him.

Finally, when they were together, he told her, “I think I want to go back to National City.”

She nodded. “Probably the best thing for you.”

“Um, I was thinking that maybe, I mean, would you consider coming with me?”

She stared at him, afraid to speak. On the one hand, she would love to, on the other, she was terrified. She deflected, “It took you four days to think of that?”

“No, I, yes, but no.”

“Winn, what would I do in National City?”

“You’d get a job, we’d live together and do the stuff we do here.”

“Except that you’d be doing a really interesting and important job.”

“I could probably get you a job there too. You did help save Supergirl.”

“I’d be terrified.”

“Okay, then I’ll get you a job at Catco.”

“And what about your friends?”

“What about them?”

“Do you really think I’d fit in with Supergirl or even Alex the Badass? I’m just as normal, boring person.”

“You’re not boring. You’re terrific.”

She bit her lip. “Winn, I’m an okay person here in New York, away from all the wonderful people and exciting lives. There, I’d be a nuisance, that woman you felt sorry for and brought along and now you can’t get rid of her.”

He started to get angry. “Why do you do that? Why do you put yourself down? You’re smart and pretty and funny and…”

“I’m not pretty.”

“You‘re extremely pretty. You just don’t realize it.”

“Why? Because I dressed up one night?”

“No, because you don’t need to dress up to be beautiful. But when you did, you didn’t even notice how the guys stared at you. And even more important, you’re smart and talented and interesting.”

“I’m just not.”

“And that’s the problem. As much as I’ve tried to tell you how terrific you are, you still don’t get it. I love you, Sam, but I won’t spend the rest of my life trying to convince you of that. I can’t deal with your insecurity and your jealousy of my friendship with Kara. I won’t wonder if you’re questioning all of my actions.”

He stopped and then said, quietly. “You can’t believe in me or in us until you believe in yourself.”

He saw the tears pooling in her eyes and he pulled her into his arms.

 

“Please don’t cry.”

“How can I not? You’re breaking up with me!”

“No, I’m going to National City. If you can find the strength in yourself, you can join me.”

She just cried.

“I love you, Sam, I really do. But there’s no future for us unless you can change your attitude.”

“Why should I have to change if I’m as wonderful as you say?”

“Not change yourself, change the way you look at yourself. Recognize your own strengths.”

She pulled away from him. “When are you going?”

He sighed. “By the end of the week.”

“Okay, I’ll find someplace else to live.”

“The apartment’s paid to the end of the month, so that gives you two and a half weeks.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Fun, but exhausting trip. And sorry this chapter is such a bummer. More soon!


	17. Chapter 17

Three weeks later, Winn was back at his job at the DEO. He was staying with Mon-El until his new apartment was ready. It took him no time at all to get back to his duties and J’onn was happy to have him back.

He tried to join game nights with his friends, but something was missing. Sam wasn’t there. He had called her when he first got to National City, but it was too painful to talk to her and know that she was so far away and he couldn’t touch her. She also sounded so sad that it broke his heart and made him question his decision. But he knew that being here wouldn’t be easy for either of them and if she wasn’t strong enough to handle this, it would be disastrous for both of them.

By the time he moved into his own place, he was starting to accept that she wasn’t going to be with him.

Sam moved in with Marni and Brad. Since they had purchased a house in Brooklyn with a third floor apartment, there was room for her. Sam had argued that they could get more money for the apartment than she could pay, but Marni countered with they’d rather have someone they knew in the house with the baby. So she made sure to babysit whenever they needed her as an extra payment. Without Winn there was nowhere she really needed to go anyway. She tried to keep the nights she cried herself to sleep to a minimum.

They were a few months into this arrangement when Brad asked her to help him. He and Marni entered her apartment. He seemed hesitant, but Marni nodded and said, “Tell her.”

“What’s up?” she asked.

“Well, my company was taken over by new management. All the upper level and most of the middle level managers are new. But that happens all the time, so I didn’t really care. Until yesterday.”

“What happened yesterday?”

“I was doing my work and inputting my results and I inadvertently found a strange file. I mean really strange. I asked my supervisor – who’s one of the new ones—and he told me to close it and not worry about it. So I did.”

“I still don’t know what you want from me.”

“So, before I closed it, I copied it on a flash drive. I always have a few in my pocket. I told Marni and she said you did some work with Winn that involved strange stuff. So could you look at it and see what you think?”

“Sure.”

They loaded the flash on her computer and she looked at the file. It wasn’t anything she’d ever seen before, but she got a weird feeling when she saw it.

“Okay, this is strange. I’m contacting Winn.”

“Wait,” Marni said, “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“It’s not a matter of what I want. This is more important.” She took out her phone, then hesitated. What if she called and he didn’t answer because he didn’t want to talk to her?   
She decided to text him.

Sam: Please call me. I need your help. It’s very important.

She hit send without hesitation. For herself, she wouldn’t contact him, but for her friends? Well, that was a different story.

Fifteen minutes later, he called her back. “Sam, it’s me. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s Brad. I’m going to put you on speaker and give you the IP address of this computer so that you can link in.” She reeled off the numbers and waited a few seconds while he accessed it.

“Whoa, what is that? Or more important, where did it come from?”

Brad told him about the new management at his company and how he found the file.

Winn was silent as he studied the screen, then he said, “Okay, look, I’m going to get J’onn. This is very strange.”

Brad asked Sam. “Where does he work?”

“A government agency that deals with this kind of stuff.”

“Uh, okay, I guess?”

Marni looked at her friend. “Are you okay talking to him?”

“For you, yes, of course. And we don’t hate each other.”

“Sam?” They heard Winn’s voice from the phone.

“Yes, we’re here.”

“Okay, J’onn’s here. Brad, can you tell us what you were doing at your job?”

Brad gave them a rundown, then how he found the file and his manager’s reaction.

Winn said, “I’m gonna mute my phone for a minute, okay?”

“Whatever you need.”

There was silence while they assumed Winn and J’onn talked. It took about ten minutes, then Winn came back.

“Okay, we’re coming to New York.”

“What? What is this?”

“I don’t want to say over the phone, but the team needs to deal with this. Brad, don’t say anything to anyone at work or anyone else for that matter. We’ll be there tonight.”

“Winn, they’ve moved. I’ll text you the address.”

“Okay.”

He disconnected and Sam sighed. She didn’t think she’d see him again so soon.

But Brad and Marni were confused. “Who’s coming? And how will they get here so quickly?”

Sam wasn’t sure how much to tell them and she wasn’t sure who was coming anyway. Would Supergirl be there?

“They sort of have private transport. And I’m not sure who will be coming besides Winn and J’onn.”

“Who’s John?” Brad asked.

“It’s J-O-N-N.” she spelled slowly. “He’s Winn’s boss. There may be others coming as well, so don’t be shocked.”

Marni looked worried. “Let’s get the baby out of here. We can take him to my Mom’s.”

“Probably a good idea.” Sam told them. “Brad, you should probably take her. Marni, you can stay there, but Brad, come back. They’ll need you.”

“I’m not staying there.” Marni said. “If my husband is in something, I’m here beside him.”

Sam nodded. They went upstairs to get the baby and pack a bag, then headed off. She knew it would take them at least two hours total to get from Brooklyn to Long Island and back.

They left and Sam waited for their visitors from National City. Even though she knew how important this was, she was still a little apprehensive at seeing Winn. She wondered how he would act towards her. Did he feel the same as she felt for him?


	18. Chapter 18

It wasn’t long before there was a knock at the door. She took a deep breath and opened it to four people, but her eyes focused on one only.

There he was.

Winn smiled when he saw her. “Hi, Sam.”

“Hi, Winn.” She said in a quiet voice as she took him in.

They stared at each other until a cough behind him broke their spell.

J’onn said, “Sorry to interrupt this reunion, but we’re here for a reason.”

They broke their gaze and Sam looked up to see the DEO director there, along with Supergirl and a dark-haired woman.

“Oh, um, you remember J’onn. “ Winn said.

Kara smiled and said, “Hello, Sam. This is my sister, Alex.” She indicated a slim dark-haired woman.

“Oh, is this the badass?”

Alex glared at Winn. “What stories have you been spreading?”

He put his hands up. “Only the truth.”

“He just said that were a badass who taught him self-defense.”

“Children!” J’onn said. “The file.”

Sam nodded and led them to the computer, which she had moved downstairs. She went over what Brad had told her again and they examined the information and discussed what to do.

When Marni and Brad arrived home, they weren’t surprised to see Winn and some strangers there, but they were surprised that Supergirl was one of them. Sam made the introductions, then Supergirl went to the couple, took their hands and said, “Sam and Winn told us that you’re worried about this. We’re going to help you, I promise.”

They nodded, a little overwhelmed to be greeted by Supergirl. Marni gave Sam a look that said Supergirl?

Sam pulled Brad over to Winn and told him, “Explain everything that happened, everything you saw.”

He nodded and began to tell Winn and the rest of the DEO team his story. While he was doing that, Marni said to the group, “We’ll get some refreshments.”

She grabbed Sam by the arm and dragged her into the kitchen. “What the hell? Supergirl?”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you. It was top secret.”

“So you already met her before this?”

“Yes. Again, sorry. She and Winn are friends, which I only found out just before he and I started dating.”

“So you knew who he was working with before you did?”

“Yes.”

She blew out a breath, then asked quietly, “Will they be able to help Brad?”

“If they can’t, no one can. So, yes, I believe they will.”

Marni nodded and together they made coffee and grabbed cookies and leftover coffee cake. By the time they joined the others, there was a plan. Brad would guide them the building with J’onn disguised as him. He would let in Alex, Kara and Winn.

“Wait,” Marni asked, “What do you think this is?”

The DEO team glanced at each other before Winn said, “It’s alien technology and it’s not here for good. They’re setting up software that will access systems and infiltrate them. We’ve got to take them down.”

They outlined more of the plan which also involved Winn going with them to upload a virus that would destroy their system.

“You’re going?” Sam asked him.

“I have to. I’m the only one who can set up this virus so that it will catch them. And I can’t do it remotely.”

“But don’t you need to monitor things here?”

“That’s what you’ll be doing.”

“Me?” she squeaked in a panicked voice.

“Of course. Look, you can’t do the upload and neither can the rest of the team. I have to do it. But no one else can monitor the system and make changes except you. You can do it.”

She took a deep breath and then said, “Okay, maybe I can. But I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

He smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

“Seriously, Winn, I lo—care about you.”

“I care about you too. No, the hell with that, I love you. I never stopped loving you. This mess between us was never because we don’t love each other.”

She nodded. “So you need to promise me that you’ll come back in one piece.”

“I promise.” He kissed her lightly and went to the team to get ready. 

In a few minutes they were all set. Winn showed Sam what he needed her to do and they fit both her and Brad with earpieces that would connect them to the team. Then they were gone.

Sam took a deep breath and looked at the system which also showed where they were. J’onn had been able to secure an armored van from the FBI and they traveled to the location in that. Sam could see the van’s location as well as lights for each team member.

Everything went according to plan, until the aliens in charge realized there were intruders. They sent their security force to take care of the problem.

Supergirl and J’onn were going after the aliens themselves. Alex helped Winn and planned to get him out of there once the virus was uploaded.

The security force found Winn and sent their bullets flying. Alex shot back and attempted to shield Winn while he finished his job.

Back in Brooklyn, Sam heard something that sounded like shots.

“What’s happening? Winn, is everything okay?’

It took a few moments, with her calling his name some more before he answered. “Yeah, just finishing this.”

He sounded strange. “Winn are you okay?”

He coughed, then said, “Yeah.”

But she heard Alex in the com say, “Winn, you’re bleeding!”

“No problem. I kind of got shot, but I’m almost done.”

“What? Shot? Winn, stop! Alex, help him!” Sam was frantic.

“Done!” he said.

“Alex, get him out of there!”

“I’m on it, we’ll be out soon. I’ll have him back there as fast as we can.”

“No, take him to a hospital!”

“I can’t. There will be too many questions about a bullet wound.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry I can get it out. I’ll need some supplies. Is there a drug store nearby?”

“There’s one at the corner.”

Alex gave her a list of things to get. Sam gave the list to Marni. She squeezed Sam’s arm, then ran out to get them.

Sam could hear Winn saying, “I’m fine.”

“Is he fine, Alex?”

“I’m not sure, but if he stays quiet and lets me take care of him he should be.”

“Winn,” Sam said, “You need to stay still and shut up.”

“I’m okay.”

“SHUT UP! I need you to get back here. There’s too much we missed and didn’t say. Please?”

“Okay.”

After the longest twenty minutes of her life, the van pulled up and Kara and Alex carried Winn into the house. Marni led them to the sofa bed in the den that she and Brad had opened up and had set the supplies next to.

Winn had a stupid smile on his face and was giggling.

“I gave him something for pain.” Alex said, “That’s why he’s acting loopy.”

“Hi, honey, I’m home,” he said to Sam. 

She grabbed his hand and held on while Alex put on gloves and began to work on him. Sam kept her eyes on Winn’s face. She did not want to watch Alex cutting into him to remove the bullet from his side. Luckily, it wasn’t deeply imbedded and she was able to remove it easily. She cleaned it up, put a bandage on him and gave him a shot to let him sleep.

“He should be okay. We’ll change the bandage twice a day to make sure there is no infection.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting towards the end of this one, but I'm more than halfway done with the sequel, so yay! Hope everyone is still enjoying this. I'd love to hear from you if you are. Or even if you aren't!


	19. Chapter 19

Sam sat by his bed while he slept, waiting for him to wake up. After a while she noticed that he was sweating and seemed feverish. 

She called Alex, who looked at the wound, but it seemed fine. They both started to examine him. It was Sam who saw the blood under his leg. 

Alex looked and said, “It’s another bullet. Or a piece of one. He has an infection.”

She started to work on him again, removing the piece of bullet from his thigh and cleaning everything up. Sam bit her lip raw to keep from crying.

“Will he…” she swallowed, afraid to ask.

“One thing at a time. Let’s get some antibiotic in him. That should help. And we cleaned it up and there’s nothing else.”

“Okay.”

Alex left and Winn slept for several hours. She stayed by his side, holding on to his hand, only letting go to stroke his hair. A few tears rolled down her face when she thought of the shooting and the possibility of losing him.

Eventually, Sam fell asleep on the bed beside him. When she woke up, she saw his eyes were open and he was looking at her,

“Winn! How do you feel?”

“Fine. Just enjoying watching you sleep beside me.”

She smiled and held back the emotions she was feeling. “I’m going to get Alex. She’ll need to check your wounds and change the bandages.”

He touched her arm. “Not yet. Can we have a few minutes alone?”

She nodded. “I was really worried about you. You promised to come back in one piece."

“I did! Well, almost.” He was quiet for a moment. “You know, when you texted me, I thought you were gonna tell me that you were pregnant.”

“What? Wow, you must have been scared to death. I’m surprised you didn’t run for the hills instead of calling me.”

“Actually, I was kind of excited.”

“You were?”

“Yeah, I would have been able to get you to move to National City so that we could be a family.”

She was silent as she thought about that.

“How would you feel about that happening?” he asked her.

“Well, I’m not ready for a baby right now, but…I want to be with you.”

“Sam, I’ve missed you so much. I thought I could be in National City without you, but I can’t.”

“I’ve missed you too. I kept thinking, maybe I should have gone with you.”

He looked at her. “Are you still jealous of Kara?”

She sighed. “It’s not that I’m jealous of her as much as I worry that I couldn’t live up to her.”

“Do you want to know why you can?”

She nodded.

“Because you love me as much as I love you. That’s so much better. All the super powers in the world can’t beat that.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “Why do you always say the absolutely perfect thing?”

“Comes with being a hero.” He joked.

“You could be a little less of a hero in the future. I almost lost you.”

“Oh, speaking of that, what happened with the aliens?”

“Not sure. You’ll have to ask Kara or Alex. I’ve been here with you since they brought you back yesterday.”

He nodded, then looked down at their clasped hands. “So how did you like working for the DEO?”

“It was scary. But it was also the most exhilarated I’ve ever felt. Up to the part where you were shot, that is.”

“Think you could do it full time?”

She hesitated, “Do you think they’d want me?”

“Probably.”

“Maybe.” She said in a quiet voice. “But I guess the real question is: do you want me?”

He smiled. “You know I do.”

She leaned in to kiss him. “Then I guess I’m going to National City.”

He smiled broadly. “Okay, you go ahead and quit your job. I’ll stay here with you and we can get you packed, then I’ll rent a car to drive you there.”

She nodded, then a look of sadness appeared.

“What’s wrong?”

“Marni. It’s going to be so hard to leave her behind.”

He squeezed her hand. “I know.”

There was a knock, then Alex and Kara came in.

“You’re awake!” Kara said.

“Yep.” Winn told her. “And ready to get up and …”

“Not so fast, Mister.” Alex warned. “I’ve got to check your wounds and change your bandages. And you have to be careful not rip out your stitches.”

She checked the wounds and said, “It looks good. No more infection.”

Everyone smiled in relief.

“So,” Kara told him. “We’ve arranged for a military plane to transport you to National City tomorrow.”

“No.” he said. “I won’t be going to National City tomorrow.”

“What? Why?” Kara looked upset, then turned to Sam, “Sam, I like you, but Winn has to come back to National City!”

“I won’t be on the plane tomorrow because I’ll be driving Sam back with me as soon as she can close up her life here.”

Kara’s face lit up. “You’re coming to National City?” she asked Sam.

Sam nodded and Kara grabbed her in a hug.

“Oh, I’m so happy! Now, Winn won’t be so miserable all the time.”

“Hey, I wasn’t miserable!”

“Yes, you were.” Kara and Alex said together.

Sam smiled. “If you ask Marni, she’ll probably tell you that I wasn’t a bed of roses either.”

“Okay,” Alex said, “I’m going to change his bandages. Sam, you’ve been in this room for two days. Why don’t you get a shower and some rest?”

Sam looked at Winn and he said, “Go ahead. I’m not going anywhere. Not without you anyway.”

She nodded, gave him a kiss and left.

Winn said, “Kara, can you ask J’onn to come here? I need to talk to him.”

“Sure.” She left to find the director. A few minutes later, he came in just as Alex finished with his bandage.

“How’s he doing?” J’onn asked her.

“He’ll live to annoy another day.” She said with a smile.

“Hey!” Winn said.

She gave a little laugh and left the room.

“You wanted to see me, Agent Schott?”

“Yeah, I was wondering…I mean the DEO could always use good IT people, right? Especially if they’ve already proven themselves, right? And…”

“Kara already told me that Sam is joining you in National City. I assume you want me to give her a job?”

“Well, she is really good and…”

“I was already planning on asking her.”

“Really?” A broad smile lit up his face.

“She is very good. And it would also mean that you will not be so distracted. That will be a big help.”

“Hey, thanks! This is great.”

The older man gave him a brief smile and turned to leave when Winn decided to press his luck. “Uh, J’onn, couldn’t we also use an engineer?”

“What?”

“Well, Brad found the problem before anyone else, that means he’s a pretty smart engineer. And now that his bosses have been arrested, he’s out of a job. And he’s got a kid to support.”

“And your girlfriend would be happier if her best friend was in National City with her.”

“That too.”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“I really appreciate it.”

J’onn got serious. “And I appreciate what you did. I know you’re not comfortable in the field, but you did good work and got injured in the process.”

“Yeah, that part wasn’t so much fun. But, hey, I have my girl taking care of me, so all ended well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter after this one, but the sequel is progressing nicely. Thanks for your support!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FINAL CHAPTER - Sequel to come!

When Sam came down from her apartment, J’onn pulled her aside. “MS Nolan, may I speak with you?”

“Of course.”

“I understand you will be moving to National City.” She nodded, as he continued. “Would you be interested in a job at the DEO?”

“Really?”

“You’ve proven yourself capable two times. Unless you don’t feel you could handle the stress?”

She smiled. “It would be a challenge, but I think I could do the job.”

He held out his hand. “Then, welcome to the DEO.”

She took his hand and smiled.

Next he found Brad sitting in the baby’s room, holding his son.

“You have a beautiful child.” J’onn told him.

“Thank you. He’s pretty terrific. Wondering now how I’m going to support him.”

“Do you have any job prospects?”

“Not at the moment. I mean, I can go out there and try, but I can’t really explain what happened at my previous job.”

“True.” He scratched his forehead before saying, “Would you consider leaving New York City?”

“Leaving? For where?”

“National City.”

“National City?”

“If you’re interested, I can offer you a job at our organization, the DEO.”

“Wow, I, uh, wow. Are you sure you want me?”

“You recognized a problem and you acted on it. That’s the kind of engineer we could use.”

“Thank you. I will have to talk to my wife. She has family and a career in New York.”

“Of course. I’m leaving this evening, but if you haven’t made a decision, Winn knows how to contact me.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know. And thank you.”

J’onn left the room and Marni came in a few moments later. She saw her husband looking pensive.

“What’s wrong?”

He sighed. “Well, I’ve been worrying since I’m now unemployed.”

“I still have a job. We’ll be okay until you find something.”

“Actually, I was just offered a job.”

“Who…oh, the organization that Winn works for.”

“Yes. How would you feel about leaving New York?”

“Wow, I hadn’t thought about it before.”

“I know your family’s here.”

“Well, my parents are retiring and moving to Florida, so they won’t be here. And with them gone, my sister will be even more annoying, so I don’t have a problem leaving her.”

“Your job.”

She shrugged. “I’m a good lawyer. If I can’t find a job at a firm in National City, then I’m not as good as I think I am.”

“Friends.”

“The only friend that matter is Sam and I have a feeling she’s going to be there too. I can’t see her and Winn separating again.”

“So we’re gonna do this?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Marni was in the kitchen later, making food for everyone when Sam came in.

“Hi.” Sam greeted her friend.

“You look better. Had a shower and a nap, huh?”

“Yeah, Mar, I need to tell you something.”

“Let me guess, you’re moving to National City with Winn.”

She frowned. “You figured that out?”

“You wouldn’t leave his side. I can’t see you letting him go off without you again.”

“Are you okay with me leaving?”

“Yep, no problem.”

“You’re mad, I’m so sorry, but I…”

“Not mad at all. It’s perfectly fine. I won’t miss you at all.”

“You won’t? Why not?”

“”Cause I’m moving there too.”

“What?”

“They offered Brad a job. We’re going too.”

“Oh, my god!” She hugged her friend and after a few more excited moments, Sam said, “Excuse me, I have to do something.”

She ran out of the kitchen and into Winn’s room. She went right to the bed and put her arms around him and kissed him hard.

“Hey,” he said when she let go, “What’s this? No complaints, just wondering.”

“You got J’onn to offer Brad a job.”

“You can’t get J’onn to do anything he doesn’t want to do. He was impressed by him.”

Tears appeared in her eyes and he frowned. “Why are you crying?”

“My best friend, my sister, will be in National City with me. And I’ll be there with you. Nothing could be more perfect.”

He smiled and she climbed onto the bed and hugged him.

“Hey, watch out, wounded hero you know”

“Did I hurt you?”

“Nah, I just want some sympathy.”

She curled up next to him and put her head on his shoulder.

“I love you.” She told him.

“Right back at you, kid.”

Everyone from National City except Winn left that evening. The next day Sam quit her job, then started packing her things. She’d packed many times over the last few years, so she was very good at it. She really hoped this would be the last time.

Winn was up and walking around in the next few days. He arranged to rent a car and they packed it up and got ready to head out.

Sam said goodbye to Marni, Brad and the baby, but it wasn’t a sad farewell. They had to sell their house and arrange to have all of their furniture moved, so it would take them a few weeks at least before they could move.

Sam and Winn took their time driving to National City, enjoying being together. They stopped each night at nearby motels. Finally, one day, Winn drove the car off the highway and up a small road that seemed to climb up a hill. 

When they reached the top, he stopped the car and said, “Come on, I want to show you something.”

They got out of the car and he took her hand and led her to the edge of a hill.

“Look.” He said, gesturing to the view spread out below them. She looked and saw a beautiful city with tall, shiny buildings and streets laid out in a neat grid pattern.

He put his arm around her waist and said, “That’s National City. That’s your new home. That’s where we’ll begin a new life together.”

She looked at the city, then smiled and looked at him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He kissed her and they stared at the city for a few more minutes, before returning to the car and driving to their future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of this one. But I just worked out an intricate plot point, so I'm almost done writing the sequel. Then I need my 'editor' (aka my daughter) to read it. So give me about a week or two. But be prepared: the next one is much more drama and angst! Thanks to everyone who read, favorited, etc. I love you guys!

**Author's Note:**

> If you've never read me before, please know that I ALWAYS finish my stories. This one is done, except for a few edits, so you will get regular updates. I love hearing from readers!


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